Russian post-Petrine literature and culture will be considered as a testing ground for the intellectual and artistic movements originating in the West (French, English, German) - both opening up to cultural exchanges with abroad and indigenizing Western European currents in a distinct manner. Russian authors will include: Prokopovic, Kantemir, Trediakovsky, Lomonosov, Sumarokov, Derzhavin, Fonvizin, Radishchev, and Karamzin. European authors will include Boileau, Pope Swift, Voltaire, Defoe, Racine, Rousseau. The added comparative/ interdisciplinary component will cater to students from across the university.