March 13-14, 2021
In preparation of their edited volume, "The Intelligentsia in Russia: Myth, Mission, Metamorphosis," Olga Partan, Associate Professor of Russian at Holy Cross, and Professor Sibelan Forrester of Swarthmore College virtually convene the book's contributors to present and solicit feedback on their draft work. The volume offers a multidisciplinary approach to addressing spiritual and moral missions of the Russian Intelligentsia, tracing its evolution over time from the 18th century to the post-Soviet era. Zoom sessions are open to the public.
Saturday, March 13, 2021
Sessions on this day are in U.S. Eastern Standard Time
10:15 a.m.: Welcome & Introductory Remarks
Moderators: Sibelan Forrester and Olga Partan
10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.: Session I
The Intelligentsia before the Intelligentsia: 18th Century Roots (The Reign of Catherine the Great)
Marcus Levitt, University of Southern California, USA
Through the Prism of Chekhov: Russian Intelligentsia and Western Intellectuals
Svetlana Evdokimova, Brown University, USA
Merchants vs. the Intelligentsia: The Case of the Moscow Art Theatre
Maria Ignatieva, Ohio State University, USA
1-2:30 p.m.: Session II
Accommodating the Intelligentsia: Tolstoyan Nonresistance as a Response to Russian Intelligentsia
Michael Denner, Stetson University, USA
The End of the Russian Intelligentsia?
Gary Hamburg, Claremont McKenna College, USA
The Marxism-Idealism Schism in the Russian Silver Age Intelligentsia and God-Building as Sexy Socialism
Irene Masing-Delic, Ohio State University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
3-4:30 p.m.: Session III
Vekhi—The Russian Intelligentsia at a Crossroads
Olga Sobolev, London School of Economics, UK
The Knights Templar in Soviet Russia
Olga Partan, College of the Holy Cross, USA
Remaking the Literary Intelligentsia (1930s – 1940s)
Carol Any, Trinity College, USA
Sunday, March 14, 2021
Sessions on this day are in U.S. Eastern Daylight Time
10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.: Session IV
The Intelligentsia and the Thick Literary Journals
Marina Adamovich, Editor of The New Review/Novyi Journal, New York, USA
The Intelligentsia Writers and Readers of Soviet Science Fiction During the Thaw
Sibelan Forrester, Swarthmore College
Deconstructing Nostalgia: Tatiana Tolstaya’s Reflections on the Russian Intelligentsia
Alexandra Smith, University of Edinburgh, UK
1-2:30 p.m.: Session V
The Intelligentsia and the Intellectuals: A History of Two Terms
Alyssa DeBlasio, Dickinson College, USA
Pelevin and Ulitskaya on Shestidesiatniki
Sofya Khagi, University of Michigan, USA
Legacy and Denial: The “New Russian Intelligentsia” On-Line and on Screen
Tatiana Smorodinska, Middlebury College, USA