“How to do escapism in the Trump era,” The New Republic, November 19, 2024
The Other Great Depression →
My article for Le Monde Diplomatique now online in English
New article in Le Monde Diplomatique →
Here, so far only in French, is my latest article in Le Monde Diplomatique. In kiosks today and on page 3!
My new article in the Manuel of Intellectual Self-Defense →
“Après 1989, l’autre grande dépression,” [After 1989, the other great depression], Manuel d’autodéfense intellectuelle — Histoire, Le Monde Diplomatique, September 12, 2024
My latest article in The New Republic →
Our politics are a shambles, our people divided and distraught. But we must fight the urge to turn away from our nation’s troubles.
Read moreMy temporary workspace in Varna
As I conduct research and start work on two new book projects, I am enjoying my new temporary work space in Varna, Bulgaria in a flat across the street from the Morska Gradina and walking distance to the archaeological museum. I have the essentials: a new laptop loaded with Scrivener, my Yerba Mate, and good music.
Abstract of Everyday Utopia in The Nation →
My new Op-Ed in the Washington Post →
Excerpt of Everyday Utopia in Jacobin Magazine →
Honored to win the 2022 SEEJ Award for Best Article →
The Editorial Board of the Slavic & East European Journal (SEEJ) has awarded my article on Bulgarian typewriters its 2022 best article of the year award. A very nice recognition for someone in my academic field.
Winter reading: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Cloud Cuckoo Land is a beautiful book about a book and the power of words spanning generations. It’s about all of the stories that link us together and the beauty of writing. It’s a 600-page novel with three different sets of protagonists in different time frames whose stories all somehow converge at the end. The first 150-pages of exposition can be a little confusing and hard to follow, but it is definitely worth it. One of the best novels I have read in a very long time, and I just re-read The Plague by Camus.
One of my favorite quotes: “That’s what the gods do, they spin threads of ruin through the fabric of our lives, all to make a song for generations to come.” page 439
Project Syndicate Op-Ed Translated into Russian →
Почему восточноевропейцы не вакцинируются?
New opinion piece for Project Syndicate →
Why Won't Eastern Europeans Get Vaccinated?
Nov 8, 2021
KRISTEN GHODSEE, MITCHELL A. ORENSTEIN
The region’s high degree of vaccine skepticism and surging death rates do not reflect the lingering effects of decades of communist rule, but rather the decades-long social consequences of its collapse. Many countries in the region have not yet reversed the profound erosion of public trust that began after 1989.
My writing retreat in Maine
Thanks so much to my dear old friends Page and Paul for lending me their cabin to put the finishing touches on Red Valkyries. I had my typewriter, my yoga mat, and no WiFi for nine glorious days in the woods.
And now in German, too...
Die roten Großmütter der Frauenbewegung, von Kristen R. Ghodsee
And in English!
The English version of my article in Le Monde Diplomatique dropped today. I am so excited that the world is learning about these remarkable women.
On the front page!
The French version of my article is live and featured on the online front page of the July edition of Le Monde Diplomatique. It’s a DREAM come true! The direct link is here.
A little reflection in the Times Higher Educational Supplement →
What are academics looking forward to about returning to campus?
As vaccination programmes offer the prospect of a return to physical teaching, what aspects of their pre-pandemic life will academics most heartily re-embrace (or at least touch elbows with)? And are there aspects of locked-down life that they will miss? Our six contributors offer a range of perspectives
Kristen Ghodsee
Getting back to the stacks
When it’s finally safe to return to campus, I will dive headlong into the east wing of the fourth floor of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library.
According to the Library of Congress classification system, the H section contains most of the social science books relevant to my research, and it is between the rolling stacks that I will lose myself in something I like to call shelf research.
In those halcyon days before the advent of digital databases, I remember digging through the musty drawers of ancient card catalogues to find a text related to my subject matter. With the call number scratched out in pencil on a scrap of paper, I would hunt down the book. Then I would sit on the floor and take down about 10 books to the left and 10 books to the right of the one I’d searched for. Because librarians have arranged the books by subject matter, I usually find amazing sources that I would not have found by searching remotely through an electronic catalogue. Continue reading
Reflecting on a short story I wrote in 2016 →
Duke University Press has kindly agreed to make freely available a story I wrote for the book, Red Hangover. I wrote this blog post to accompany it.
Dyson Obituary reprinted in India's The Wire →
Nice to see that this one is making its way around the world
