Out of an abundance of caution in response to the spread of COVID-19, we have canceled all remaining seminars in the Winter/Spring 2020 term. Please visit www.newberry.org/covid19 for further updates.

Please email seminars@newberry.org with any questions.

Seminar Description

The horrific experiences of the Soviet peoples during the regime of Josef Stalin continue to stagger the imagination. This seminar will explore the historical context in which Stalin emerged and gained dominance, and examine the extent of his crimes. Topics to be treated will include Stalin’s ascendancy to power; the nature of his regime; the Five Year Plans; the Terror Famine; the Great Purges; Stalin’s foreign policy and the Nazi-Soviet Pact; the Great Patriotic War; and Stalin’s legacy.

Ten sessions. E – $315, R – $346.50

Frank Biletz received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago, with a primary specialization in modern British and Irish history. He is currently an adjunct instructor of history at Loyola University Chicago and has been teaching seminars at the Newberry since 1994.

Materials List

Required:

• Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. Simon Sebag Montefiore. Vintage Books, 2005. ISBN: 978-1400076789

First Reading:

• For the first class, please read the Prologue and Part One (Chapters 1-2) of Simon Sebag Montefiore's Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar.

Registration Information

• Online registration opens at 9 am (CST) on Tuesday, January 7.
• Phone registration opens at 12 pm (CST) on Wednesday, January 8.

Early registration (E) prices are in effect from January 7 at 9 am through January 24 at 4 pm. Regular registration (R) prices are in effect January 24 at 4 pm through the end of the term.

We offer a 10% discount to members, seniors, and students.

Need Help? Please email seminars@newberry.org.

This seminar is part of the Newberry’s Seminars Program. Learn more about registering for a seminar, program policies and procedures, or teaching a seminar.