Cost and Registration Information

Early Registration Price (August 27 at 9 am** – September 13 at 4 pm): $315
Regular Registration Price (September 13 at 4 pm – first day of class): $346.5

** Registration opens online at 9 am. Phone registration will be accepted starting at 10 am.

Members, seniors, and students get a 10% discount.

Both Section A and B are full. Please call (312) 255-3700 to be added to the waitlist.

Seminar Description

The Russian Revolution of 1917 transformed world history, ending the Romanov dynasty and initiating an ideological struggle between communism and liberal democracy. Topics to be treated in this course include the reign of Nicolas II; the Revolution of 1905; Russian involvement in the Great War; the March Revolution and the liberal Provisional Government; the Bolshevik Revolution in November 1917; the protracted Civil War; the Bolshevik consolidation of power; and the leadership struggle after the death of Lenin.

Ten sessions. E - $315, L - $346.5

Frank A. Biletz holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago and specializes in modern British and Irish history. He is currently adjunct instructor of history at Loyola University Chicago. He has been teaching seminars at the Newberry since 1994.

Materials List

Required:

• S. A. Smith, Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis 1890-1928. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. ISBN: 978-0198734833.
• John Reed, Ten Days that Shook the World. Penguin Classics, 2007. ISBN: 978-0141442129.

First Reading:

• For the first class, please read the introduction and chapter 1 of Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis, 1890-1928, by S. A. Smith.

This class is part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program. Learn more about our registration procedures.