معرفی
James von Geldern is Professor and Chair of Russian Studies at Macalester College, where he has taught since 1988. His courses include RUSS/INTL364: Culture and Revolution, RUSS488: Russian Studies Senior Seminar, INTL114: International Codes of Conduct, and INTL245: International Human Rights.
His academic credentials include:
- BA from Tufts University (1980)
- MA from Brown University (1981)
- PhD from Brown University (1987)
- JD from University of Minnesota (2005)
Specializing in Russian and Soviet mass culture, von Geldern examines how popular songs, films, literature, and media reflected societal values beyond the totalitarian paradigm. His research reveals how cultural traditions persisted through the Soviet collapse in 1991, analyzing revolutionary commemorations and legal frameworks through everyday cultural artifacts rather than elite narratives.
He authored Bolshevik Festivals, 1917-1920 and co-edited Mass Culture in Soviet Russia and Entertaining Tsarist Russia. His NEH-funded digital archive Seventeen Moments in Soviet History—developed with Michigan State's Lewis Siegelbaum—features primary sources on Soviet culture. Von Geldern also contributed expertise on Soviet mass culture to Macalester's 2006 podcast regarding Alexander Litvinenko's poisoning.
