7 - A.K. 47 - What Has the October Revolution Done for Women in the West?

In this episode, Kristen R. Ghodsee reads an endnote included with the text of Kollontai's 1946 article The Soviet Woman - A Full and Equal Citizen of Her Country. This endnote was included in 1984 by the Soviet editors of the collection of Kollontai's writing to highlight the real strides the Soviet Union was attempting to make toward true women's equality. Ghodsee discusses the Cold War context for the endnote and whether or not the Eastern Bloc really did live up to its promises with regar...

19 Joulu 202018min

Kristen Ghodsee discusses the later decades of Alexandra Kollontai's life and reads an abridged version of her 1946 essay, "The Soviet Woman, A Full and Equal Citizen of Her Country." This essay was written in the aftermath of World War II and was published in Soviet Woman. Its goal is to encourage Soviet women to have babies while also working to rebuild the Soviet economy. Although Kollontai is undoubtedly pro-natalist and asserts that women have a social duty to become mothers, she...

13 Joulu 202023min

In this Thanksgiving Day episode, Kristen Ghodsee discusses why she is not going to finish reading Red Love on the podcast, but discusses the overall themes of the novella. Mentioned in this episode are: Alexandra Kollontai, Love of Worker Bees (Translated by Cathy Porter). Cassandra Editions: 1977. The novella is published here as "Vasilisa Malygina." Kristen Ghodsee, The Left Side of History: World War II and the Unfulfilled Promise of Communism in Eastern Europe. Durham: Duke University ...

26 Marras 202016min

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads Part Two of Chapter Six of the 1927 English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love. Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, please spread the word, share with your friends and networks, and consider exploring the following links. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent book...

22 Syys 202021min

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads Part One of Chapter Six of the 1927 English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love. Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, please spread the word, share with your friends and networks, and consider exploring the following links. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent book...

13 Syys 202022min

In this bonus episode, Kristen Ghodsee speaks with her daughter about care work in the time of coronavirus lockdowns. As the school year begins in the United States, many children are learning remotely, creating an incredible burden on working parents. How can you socialize childcare and other forms of care work during a pandemic when institutional options are few and far between, and when state and local budgets are shrinking? How do we value emotional labor and care work without commodifyin...

7 Syys 202021min

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee takes a break from reading Red Love to reflect on the state of the world during the coronavirus pandemic and how to cope with political despair and what the Germans aptly call Weltschmerz. Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, please spread the word, share with your friends and ne...

20 Elo 202020min

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads Part Two of Chapter Five of the 1927 English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love. August Special: All E-books of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence are only $2.99 for August 2020 in the United States. Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support th...

6 Elo 202020min