Sinners, Saints, and Madmen is a discussion-based survey course of 19th-century Russian prose that traces the development of signature themes of Russian literature that continue to the present, such as hagiography; “madness”; the myth of St. Petersburg; superfluous men and sacrificial women. It also considers the complicated relationship of Russian literature and its authors to both the present moment and the historical past. Authors include major figures of the long Russian literary 19th century (Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov) as well as overshadowed ones. Readings and discussion in English; no previous knowledge of Russian literature or culture required.