LIT 86 — Witness to Tyranny: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Literary Resistance
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Kristen Edwards
Date(s): Apr 8—May 27
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Wednesdays
Class Meeting Time: 6:00—7:50 pm (PT)
Tuition: $475
Refund Deadline: Apr 10
Unit(s): 1
Status: Registration opens Feb 23, 8:30 am (PT)
Few writers have confronted tyranny with the moral force of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008). Imprisoned for eight years under Stalin and later exiled from the Soviet Union in 1974, he transformed his ordeal—years of forced labor, censorship, and surveillance—into a universal meditation on freedom and conscience. This course examines two of his most influential works—The Gulag Archipelago and In the First Circle—which exposed the machinery of Soviet repression and reshaped global understanding of communism. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, Solzhenitsyn was recognized for the moral courage and artistic power that made such revelations possible. Through close reading and discussion, we’ll consider his literary craft, spiritual vision, and enduring search for truth. We’ll also ask why his challenge to both Soviet authority and Western complacency remains urgent today and what his work continues to teach about responsibility, resilience, and the endurance of the human spirit.
KRISTEN EDWARDS
Independent Scholar
Kristen Edwards received a PhD in history from Stanford. She has taught Russian, European, and world history at Menlo College, Notre Dame de Namur University, and Stanford. She has contributed to Seventeen Moments in Soviet History (an online media archive) and led Stanford Travel/Study trips to Russia. Having taught Russian film in her history courses since Putin's early years in power, Edwards is researching his use of film in shaping Russian culture and society today.Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (Abridged Edition) (ISBN 978-0061253805 )
(Required) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Harry Willets (Trans), In the First Circle, (1st Uncensored Ed) (ISBN 978-0061479014)
(Required) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Harry Willets (Trans), In the First Circle, (1st Uncensored Ed) (ISBN 978-0061479014)