Book Discussion: States of Anxiety: Scarcity and Loss in Revolutionary Russia, by William Rosenberg

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

This session will examine William G. Rosenberg’s 2023 monograph "States of Anxiety: Scarcity and Loss in the Russian Revolution." Rosenberg’s important study thematically addresses issues related to scarcity and traumatic loss, and by doing so considers revolutionary visions, policies, constraints, and results of the autocratic-monarchical, democratic liberal, democratic socialist, and Bolshevik regimes that--in turn--sought to govern the Russian Empire in 1914-1921. In the session's first half, five panelists (O'Donnell, Stockdale, Retish, Orlovsky, and Hasegawa) will offer five-to-ten-minute statements addressing discrete aspects of the book, such as specific themes and arguments, sources and methodology, and the book’s historiographic significance. Rosenberg then will briefly respond to panelists’ comments and discuss what he sees as most significant about the book. The second half of the session will be devoted to further discussion involving panelists and the audience.

Sub Unit

• History: 1900-1945

Chair

• Aaron Benyamin Retish, Wayne State U

Roundtable Members

• Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, UC Santa Barbara

• Anne O'Donnell, New York U

• Daniel T. Orlovsky, Southern Methodist U

• William G. Rosenberg, U of Michigan

• Melissa K. Stockdale, U of Oklahoma