A.K. 47 - Selections from the Works of Alexandra Kollontai - TopPodcast.com

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A.K. 47 – Selections from the Works of Alexandra Kollontai — History
A.K. 47 – Selections from the Works of Alexandra Kollontai

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads and discusses 47 selections from the works of Alexandra Kollontai (1872-1952), a socialist women’s activist who had radical ideas about the intersections of socialism and women’s emancipation. Born into aristocratic privilege, the Ukrainian-Finnish Kollontai was initially a member of the Mensheviks before she joined Lenin and the Bolsheviks and became an important revolutionary figure during the 1917 Russian Revolution. Kollontai was a socialist theorist of women’s emancipation and a strident proponent of sexual relations freed from all economic considerations. After the October Revolution, Kollontai became the Commissar of Social Welfare and helped to found the Zhenotdel (the women’s section of the Party). She oversaw a wide variety of legal reforms and public policies to help liberate working women and to create the basis of a new socialist sexual morality. But Russians were not ready for her vision of emancipation, and she was sent away to Norway to serve as the first Russian female ambassador (and only the third female ambassador in the world). In this podcast, Kristen R. Ghodsee – a professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence (Bold Type Books 2018) – selects excerpts from the essays, speeches, and fiction of Alexandra Kollontai and puts them in context. Each episode provides an introduction to the abridged reading with some relevant background on Kollontai and the historical moment in which she was writing.

Copyright: © 2021 A.K. 47 - Selections from the Works of Alexandra Kollontai

Latest Episodes:

56 - A.K. 47 - Red Love: Chapter 1 May 30, 2020

Show notes

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads Chapter One of the 1927 English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love.

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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'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.
Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

55 - A.K. 47 - Red Love: Introduction May 24, 2020

Show notes

Kristen R. Ghodsee introduces Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love (full text available at marxists.org) and reads the Foreword to the 1927 English language edition. Also mentioned in the episode is Sally Rooney's novel, Normal People.

_______
"This novel is neither a study in “morals,” nor a picture of the standard of life in Soviet Russia. It is a purely psychological study of sex-relations in the post-war period.

"I have chosen the environment of my own country and made my own people protagonists, for I know them better and could give a more vivid picture of their inner life and characters. Many of the problems presented are not exclusively Soviet-Russian; they are world-wide facts, which can be noted in all countries. These silent psychological dramas, born of the change in the sexual relations; this evolution, especially, in the feelings of women, are well known to the younger generation of Europe.

"Do we ever judge a man for his conduct in love-affairs? Generally, if he does not overstep certain, very flexible limits, we say that his sexual life is his own “private affair.” The character of a man is evaluated not by his conduct in family morals, but by his efficiency in work, by his intellect, his will, his usefulness to the State and Society. As long as the majority of women had no direct duties to the State or to Society, as long as their whole activity was concentrated within the family limits, civilized nations demanded no other qualities in woman than that she display “good morals” in sexual and family life.

"Now, when more than half of the grown-up women-citizens in most countries toil and struggle, just as the men do, Society puts new demands on the women. Their ability to respond to the social duties of a citizen begins to have more value than their “goodness” and “stainlessness” in family-morals. Family life is not the unique field of activity for women nowadays; often enough her family duties come into bitter conflict with her out-of-home work and her public duties. It is only natural, therefore, that the method of evaluating a woman today is different from that of our grandfathers and grandmothers.

"Though a woman may, at the present time, attain “perfection” in the current bourgeois standard of family morals, and be “esteemed” by her own people, she may neither receive the real appreciation of society nor the “respect” of the State. She will merely be “overlooked.” On the contrary: a woman may not be “spotless” from the point of view of current bourgeois sex morals, but if she is an outstanding figure in politics, art, science, etc., one will not even “whisper” about her behind her back. Were one to put into the balance two women: one with “good morals,” but who never did any useful work for the country or humanity, and the other, whose “family morals” are not free from criticism, but who is an efficient public worker – there would be no doubt about the choice.

"Our criteria in sex morals are always changing. There is never a standstill. There are merely periods in human history when the evolution of morals goes on more rapidly; other periods (with a general stagnation in all fields of life) when change seems to relax....There remains less and less of the old bourgeois hypocrisy in our way of thinking and judging of sex morals.

"I do hope that this book will aid in combating the old, bourgeois hypocrisy in moral values and show once more that we are beginning to respect woman, not for her “good morals,” but for her efficiency, for her ingenuity with respect to her duties toward her class, her country and humanity as a whole."

Send us Fan Mail

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'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.
Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

54 - Bonus Episode - On Kollontai and Turning Fifty Apr 26, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee reads a passage from Cathy Porter's excellent biography of Alexandra Kollontai about the events of the year 1922 when Kollontai turned 50. Her standing in the Party was at its worst and her marriage to Dubenko was falling apart. It was during this time that she wrote her "Letters to Working Youth," trying to share her experience and advice with the younger generations. On this episode, Ghodsee discusses generational politics with her daughter and why Millennials and members of Generation Z (the Zoomers) are so resentful toward the Baby Boomers and Gen X.
Mentioned in this episode is Baz Luhrmann's 1999 song "Everyone is free to wear sunscreen."

Send us Fan Mail

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'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.
Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

53 - A.K. 47 - Sisters Part III Apr 17, 2020

Show notes

In this episode Kristen Ghodsee reads the third and final part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "Sisters." The "Nepmen" in the story are Soviet revolutionaries that take advantage of Lenin's New Economic Policy (NEP) to get rich and return to traditional gender roles. Kollontai herself was very critical of the NEP and especially its effects on Soviet women.

Send us Fan Mail

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'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.
Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

52 - A.K. 47 - Sisters Part II Apr 10, 2020

Show notes

In this episode Kristen Ghodsee reads the second part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "Sisters." The "Nepmen" in the story are Soviet revolutionaries that take advantage of Lenin's New Economic Policy (NEP) to get rich and return to traditional gender roles. Kollontai herself was very critical of the NEP and especially its effects on Soviet women.

Send us Fan Mail

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'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.
Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

51 - A.K. 47 - Sisters Part I Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

In this episode Kristen Ghodsee reflects on the coronavirus and begins to read Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "Sisters."
Mentioned in this episode are the $2.99 e-book sale for the entire month of April for Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence, as well as Ghodsee's April 6th appearance on the Quarantine Books Club.

Send us Fan Mail

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'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.
Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

50 - A.K. 47 - Bonus Episode - Post-IWD Greetings from Wellington, New Zealand Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee send greetings from New Zealand and shares some exciting news about various articles and interviews that were published in conjunction with International Women's Day and Women's History Month. Please find below a list of links mentioned in this podcast: three in English and two in German. There is also a link to a Spanish translation of the New York Times piece.

“How the socialist behind paid child care and parental leave was erased from women's history, “ NBC Think, March 7, 2020
“Women’s Unpaid Labor is Worth $10,900,000,000,000” with Gus Wezerek, New York Times, March 5, 2020 [en Español: "El trabajo no remunerado que realizan las mujeres tiene un valor de 10,900,000,000,000 dólares"]
Kristen de Groot, "The history behind International Women’s Day," Penn Today, March 6, 2020
Cornelia Meyer, “ “Der späte Erfolg des Sozialismus: Warum in Osteuropa mehr Frauen in Tech-Berufen arbeiten,” Business Insider Germany, March 8, 2020
Juli Katz, „Care-Arbeit sollte staatlich organisiert werden“ TAZ, March 2, 2020

Send us Fan Mail

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'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.
Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

49 - A.K. 47 - Bonus Episode - International Women's Day 2020 Mar 08, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee recounts the amazing story of how Alexandra Kollontai saved the lives of one of her colleague's parents in Sweden. After the Nazi invasion of Norway in 1940, Hans Cerf and his wife needed to immediately get out of Europe through Moscow, but the clerk in the Soviet embassy in Stockholm said that it would take six weeks to issue them visas. Enter one "beautiful bosomy lady."

Send us Fan Mail

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'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.
Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

48 - A.K. 47 - The Loves of Three Generations Discussion II Mar 01, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee discusses the fraught historical relationship between left movements and women's emancipation. As the case of Kollontai shows us, revolutionary men do not always remain committed to women's issues after the revolution has been accomplished.
Mentioned in this essay is this article about August Bebel from Jacobin Magazine.

Send us Fan Mail

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'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.
Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

47 - A.K. 47 - The Loves of Three Generations Discussion I Feb 14, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Kristen R. Ghodsee discusses Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "The Loves of Three Generations," her most controversial piece of fiction and one that caused her terrible amounts of trouble with her Bolshevik colleagues. This story is written as a letter to Kollontai from a revolutionary comrade who is having personal problems and seeks Kollontai's advice. This colleague wants to know if her own feelings of betrayal and jealousy are remnants of the bourgeois past or whether she is justified in her indignation. This story reflects Kollonta's proposal that romantic love will come second to love for work and for the collective in the new socialist society to come. Most Russian readers were horrified by this story in 1923.
The key characters are:

Maria Stepanovna - The grandmother (Olga's mother and a populist)
Olga Sergeevna - The mother (the letter writer and a Marxist)
Comrade Ryabkov (Andrei) - Olga's husband (who is 7 years younger than she) and Zhenya's stepfather
Zhenya - Olga's 20-year-old daughter (who is sleeping with her stepfather)
Narrator - Presumably Alexandra Kollontai

This episode is a freestyle rant discussing Kollontai's possible intentions with this story.

Send us Fan Mail

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'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.
Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen

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