So, it has been a while…

I was very active on this blog for the first year or so of the 44 Lenin Avenue project, but as it came time to complete the finishing touches on my book, as well as getting bogged down by various other aspects of my job, I have not had much time to devote to this project (or to the blog), over the last year. That is about to change, for two exciting reasons!

  1. My book was finally published. You can purchase Stalin’s Gulag at War directly from University of Toronto Press (the paperback is only 22.95 CAD on the UTP website!), or most large booksellers that sell on line. If anyone is reading this from Kamloops, copies are also available at the TRU Bookstore!
  2. I’ve earned tenure, promotion, and a research sabbatical, all starting July 1! The sabbatical is specifically designed for this project. Some of the planning is ongoing, but it will take me to Halifax, Paris, Oxford, and Russia for research and writing, so be ready for some updates! I’m particularly excited to have been awarded funding to spend one month at the EHESS (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales) in Paris, where I’ll be lecturing both on the Gulag and on the 44 Lenin Avenue project.

I found my initial posts especially helpful for working through preliminary ideas, or for discussing interesting nuggets of information, and I intend to use this blog as a type of research journal (albeit a public one). Any feedback over the coming year, especially, would be greatly appreciated.