Russian Language and Area Studies at St. Olaf

Tag: Intellectual History

  • Dr. Andrey Ivanov Visits St. Olaf

    In mid-March, the Russian Studies Department invited Dr. Andrey V. Ivanov to St. Olaf to give a public lecture on his recent book, A Spiritual Revolution: The Impact of Reformation and Enlightenment in Orthodox Russia, 1700–1825. Dr. Ivanov’s lecture was followed by a reception and exhibition of 17-18th c. Protestant theological works drawn from Rolvaag Special Collections and curated by Jillian Sparks.

    Dr. Ivanov also gave a guest lecture on Russia’s Orthodox Enlightenment in Prof. Morse’s course, “Mystics & Madmen: An Introduction to Russian Intellectual History.”

    Support for Dr. Ivanov’s visit was provided by the Leraas Fund and the Lutheran Center.

  • Mystics & Madmen: An Introduction to Russian Intellectual History

    Peter I incognito.
    Zaandam, 1697-8.

    In this course we will examine the rich intellectual history of the Russian Empire from its founding in 1721 to around 1850. In those years, few questions were more urgent to Russian thinkers than the place of Russia in the world. As the Russian Empire rose to prominence in the eighteenth century, the question only became more urgent — had Peter I’s Westernizing reforms put Russians on the right course or led them astray by alienating them from their cultural and spiritual heritage? We will explore this controversy through readings drawn from the debate between two opposing intellectual camps; the traditionalist Slavophiles and their reform-minded rivals, the Westernizers. In so doing, we will interrogate the dynamic relationship between religious thought and the state; art and power; and the individual and the nation in Imperial Russia.

    Offered Spring 2025.