A.k. 47 - Selections From The Works Of Alexandra Kollontai

Kristen Ghodsee's (now twenty-year-old) daughter interviews Ghodsee about the original idea for the podcast and how it has developed since January 2019 when she posted her first episode. Mentioned in this podcast are these books and articles:Red Valkyries: Feminist Lessons from Five Revolutionary Women, Verso Books, 2022“The Most Famous Feminist You’ve Never Heard Of,” Ms. Magazine, March 29, 2020“How the socialist behind paid child care and parental leave was erased from women's history, “ NBC Think, March 7, 2020"Crashing the Party: The radical legacy of a Soviet-era feminist," World Policy Journal, No, 2, Summer 2018Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence (Bold Type Books, 2018)

Kristen Ghodsee records part of a spontaneous chat with Minja Bujakovic and Marta Chmielewska, both Ph.D. researchers at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Over a bottle of wine, Minja discusses her Master's thesis examining the work of Kollontai as it was disseminated in interwar Yugoslavia. Of particular interest is the reported conversation that the French liberal feminist Louise Weiss had with Kollontai when Weiss visited Moscow in 1921. Minja Bujakovic is a first-year Ph.D. researcher at the Department of History and Civilization. In her Ph.D. project titled: Revolutionary Women Transcending Borders: The Communist Women’s International and the Struggle for Women’s Emancipation , she proposes a transnational analysis of the Communist Women’s Movement in the interwar period, mapping its evolution and development over time, through the membership and activism of individual communist women.Marta Chmielewska is second-year PhD researcher at the Department of History and Civilization in

Kristen Ghodsee discusses two key themes in Kollontai's 1918 essay, "New Woman." The first is the persistence of nostalgia for an imagined traditional family of the past that might save us from the difficulties and loneliness of late capitalism. Kollontai herself understood that many "new women" in the early years of the Soviet Union were nostalgic for the sheltered lives of their mothers and grandmothers. Flaming this nostalgia for a "golden age" of the past is a typical rhetorical strategy of the reactionary,  far right. The second theme is the recent preponderance of anti-capitalist films in the mainstream media, such as Parasite and Squid Game. Kristen Ghodsee's author website: www.kristenghodsee.comPopular Books:Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic IndependenceRed Valkyries: Feminist Lessons from Five Revolutionary Women

Kristen Ghodsee reads Part 4 of Alexandra Kollontai's 1918 essay: "New Woman" where Kollontai discusses the relationship between life and art in the representation of female characters in literature.  Kristen Ghodsee's author website: www.kristenghodsee.comPopular Books:Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic IndependenceRed Valkyries: Feminist Lessons from Five Revolutionary Women

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee attempts to read the last part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1918 essay, "New Woman," but fails. Instead, she reflects on the sudden appearance of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the end of the Mycenaean civilization and the Greek dark ages, and some bad news about a good friend back home. Mentioned in this episode are the books: Everything was Forever, Until it Was No More by Alexei Yurchak and Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney.

Kristen Ghodsee reads Part 3 of Alexandra Kollontai's 1918 essay: "New Woman" where Kollontai discusses the relationship between life and art in the representation of female characters in literature.  

Kristen Ghodsee reads Part 2 of Alexandra Kollontai's 1918 essay: "New Woman" where Kollontai discusses the relationship between life and art in the representation of female characters in literature.  You can join Kristen Ghodsee's newsletter here[Note from Kristen Ghodsee: "Apologies for the weird "shushing" sound in the background. I do not have my regularly recording equipment with me in Europe so I have been using my phone. I think the earbuds somehow captured the sound of my hair lightly rubbing against the puffer vest I was wearing when I recorded this episode.  I can't figure out what else it could be, but I will make sure to put my hair up next time!]

Kristen Ghodsee reads Part 1 of Alexandra Kollontai's 1918 essay: "New Woman" where Kollontai discusses the relationship between life and art in the representation of female characters in literature.  

Kristen Ghodsee reads the third part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1916 essay, "Working Woman and Mother," and discusses reform vs. revolution.Upcoming events - Second World, Second Sex. Socialist Women’s Global Solidarity in the Cold WarVideosFrance 24 English, “Women Under Socialism: A Better Emancipation,” October 6, 2021Second Life Book Club, “Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism,” September 9, 2021 InterviewsJudit Bertan, “Kristen R. Ghodsee: "A las aplicaciones de citas no les interesa que tengas buen sexo" La Provincia, October 11, 2021Guiseppe Pavino, “"El socialisme d’estat va ser terrible en algunes coses, però beneficiós en d’altres,” La Directa, October 7, 2021Emma Pons Valls, “"Als països socialistes les relacions personals eren millors: era una manera de viure diferent" Public.es, October 4, 2021Sílvia Marimon Molas, “Kristen Ghodsee: "Las parejas que comparten la crianza de los hijos tienen mejores relaciones sexuales"“ Ara, October 2, 2021Xavi

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee interviews the French-Canadian feminist activist and fellow Kollontai aficionado, Rebecca Amsellem in Paris, France. Rebecca is the editor of a well-known feminist newsletter in France, Les Glorieuses,  and she has contributed an essay a forthcoming edited volume about the impact Alexandra Kollontai has had on her life and work. In this conversation, Ansellem discusses Kollontai's views on love and revolution as well as why Kollontai is not better known in France.The edited collection is called: Une bibliothèque féministe, out in October 2021Rebecca will be speaking at 18:30 at the librairie à République in Paris:  "Lancement et rencontre avec Agathe le Tailandier pour son livre " Ma bibliothèque féminite" + invitées surprises!"The Les Glorieuses newsletter is a great way to practice your French! Rebecca also publishes two newsletter in English. If you want to keep abreast of French feminist politics and economics, look no further:Impact: https://lesgl

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee reads Part Two of Alexandra Kollontai's 1916 essay, "Working Woman and Mother." This is an excellent essay to examine Kollontai's rhetorical strategies for reaching literate working class women. In this pamphlet, she starts by telling the stories of four pregnant women named Masha, and how their class positions determine society's different levels of concern for the "sacred" state of motherhood.As mentioned in the last episode, there are three in-person events coming up in Europe (Delta variant willing). Kristen Ghodsee will be speaking at the:Manifiesta in Oostende, Belgium on September 12, 2021Finestres Bookstore in Barcelona, Spain on September 29, 2021Gender and Materiality in Central and Eastern Europe in the XX Century in Paris, on October 1, 2021Also see the new TikTok channel: sexandsocialism101And Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism in Korean!

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee reads Part One of Alexandra Kollontai's 1916 essay, "Working Woman and Mother." This is an excellent essay to examine Kollontai's rhetorical strategies for reaching literate working class women. In this pamphlet, she starts by telling the stories of four pregnant women named Masha, and how their class positions determine society's different levels of concern for the "sacred" state of motherhood.Also mentioned in this essay are three in-person events coming up in Europe ( Delta variant willing). Kristen Ghodsee will be speaking at the:Manifiesta in Oostende, Belgium on September 12, 2021Finestres Bookstore in Barcelona, Spain on September 29, 2021Gender and Materiality in Central and Eastern Europe in the XX Century in Paris, on October 1, 2021Also see the new TikTok channel: sexandsocialism101Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism in Korean!

In response to a listener request from the Chicago Teachers' Union, Kristen Ghodsee reads Louise Bryant's chapter on Alexandra Kollontai from Bryant's 1923 book: Mirrors of Moscow. Bryant was a feminist and a journalist who traveled to Russia in 1917 to report on the revolution with her husband, John Reed. This chapter is based on Bryant's personal conversations with Kollontai, and although her biography of Kollontai contains some errors, it is an interesting first hand account from another American woman who met Kollontai in Russia in the years following the October Revolution. Also mentioned in this episode are: Kristen Ghodsee on the podcast with Le Monde Diplomatique (English): Podcast with George Miller: The forgotten chapter of the women’s movement, July 14, 2021The Review of Taking Stock of Shock in The American ConservativePortuguese translation: Por que as mulheres tem melhor sexo sob o socialismo e outros argumentos a favor da independência econômica

Kristen Ghodsee and her daughter discuss the relationship of Alexandra Kollontai with her lifelong Bulgarian friend, Zoya Shadurskaya.  The two women met when they were six years old and remained friends for their entire lives, often living together and raising Kollontai's son, Misha. Shadurskaya never married, and Kollontai claimed that after her son, Zoya was the most "dear person to her in the world." In this episode, Ghodsee and her daughter discuss the politics of historiography and the prevalence of queer families in the revolutionary circles of Tsarist Russia. 

Kristen Ghodsee reads and discusses Alexandra Kollontai’s 1914 essay, “War and Our Immediate Tasks,” which reflects her early commitment to pacifism during World War I.  Mentioned in this episode is Leo Tolstoy’s important book, The Kingdom of God Is Within You, the foundational document of Christian anarchism and a key theoretical elucidation of pacifism which had a profound impact on Mohandas Gandhi (and through Gandhi on Martin Luther King, Jr.)Also mentioned in this episode are several podcasts, articles, and a new book by Kristen Ghodsee:Podcast: National Public Radio, Throughline, “Capitalism: What Is It?” June 24, 2021Podcast: Revolutionary Left Radio, Interview with Kristen Ghodsee, “The Life and Legacy of Alexandra Kollontai” June 18, 2021Article: “When the women’s movement went global,” Le Monde Diplomatique English, July 1, 2021Article: “Les « grands-mères rouges » du mouvement international des femmes,” Le Monde Diplomatique, June 30, 2021Article: “Politicized Representations of Love and Sex: Read

In answer to a listener's question, Kristen Ghodsee discusses the meetings and interactions of the Russian-American anarchist with Alexandra Kollontai in 1920, quoting directly from Goldman's own works. Cited here are Goldman's Living My Life and My Further Disillusionment with Russia. Quotes from Emma Goldman:“I had known for some time of the presence in New York of Mme Alexandra Kolontay and Leon Trotsky. From the former I had received several letters and a copy of her book on woman’s share in the world’s work. She had asked me to meet her, but I had been unable to spare the time. Later on I had invited her to dinner, but she was prevented by illness from coming.”  - Emma Goldman, Living My Life"The expedition was to proceed to Petrograd the next day, but Louise begged me to remain for the funeral. Sunday, October 23rd, several friends rode with her to the Trade Union House where Reed’s body lay in state. I accompanied Louise when the procession started for the Red Square. There were spe

Kristen Ghodsee discusses a recent edited collection of essays about the life and work of Alexandra Kollontai, published by Sternberg Press, which includes an English translation of a Swedish play by Agneta Pleijel. The play was first performed in 1977 and this version is based on a revised version that was performed in Stockholm in 1979.The Red Love Reader emerged from a CuratorLab project from 2017-2018Listen to an e-flux podcast about the launch of the Red Love collection.Buy the book from Sternberg Press. Open Access to the book from Konstfack University.

Kristen Ghodsee reads and discusses the second part of Isabel de Palencia's 1947 translation of Alexandra Kollontai's essay, "A Letter to a Young Comrade."  This essay was reprinted in a report written by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1959: "The Communist Conspiracy: Strategy and Tactics of World Communism."This essay is essentially a shorter version of "Make Way for Winged Eros" and was taken to be representative of Kollontai's work by the Americans who included it in this collection.  

Kristen Ghodsee reads and discusses the first part of Isabel de Palencia's 1947 translation of Alexandra Kollontai's essay, "A Letter to a Young Comrade."  This essay was reprinted in a report written by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1959: "The Communist Conspiracy: Strategy and Tactics of World Communism."This essay is essentially a shorter version of "Make Way for Winged Eros" and was taken to be representative of Kollontai's work by the Americans who included it in this collection.  

Kristen Ghodsee reads and discusses the introduction to Alexandra Kollontai included in a report written by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1959. This report, "The Communist Conspiracy: Strategy and Tactics of World Communism," includes two English selections of Kollontai's work: the foreword to Red Love and Isabel de Palencia's 1947 translation of Kollontai's essay, "A Letter to a Young Comrade."Mentioned in this episode is Elaine Tyler May's excellent book, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War.Also, review the podcast and send in for your free A.K 47 stickers: Alexandra.kollontai.podcast@gmail.com