Registration Status
Future offerings
Siberia: Russia's Frozen Wasteland or Economic Heartland?
Wed., April 1-May 6, 10-11:30 a.m.
Time: 10-11:30 a.m.
Location: Online
Cost: $70
With Asya Pereltsvaig, Ph.D., Educator & Author
Siberia constitutes three quarters of Russia’s territory, but only a quarter of the country’s population lives there. Yet, the role of Siberia in making Russia a large and wealthy empire should not be underestimated.
In this course, we will discuss Siberia’s role in the rise, and possibly imminent dismantling, of Russia as a unified state; Siberia’s economic importance, both historically and today; the region’s indigenous peoples and their cultures; its role as a penal colony throughout history and how that function transformed the region; its importance for climate change and environmental issues; and the relations between Russia and China, in which Siberia plays a crucial role.
Asya Pereltsvaig received a degree in English and History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from McGill University. She taught at Yale and Stanford, and has been teaching in lifelong education programs since 2010. Her expertise is in language and history, and the relationship between them. Her most recent book, Languages of the World: An Introduction, 4th edition (2023) was published by Cambridge University Press. Asya is a popular instructor for several OLLI programs around the country and was the faculty host for the OLLI trip to the Baltic countries and St. Petersburg in July 2017.
This class will not be recorded.
Class #: 24003
Registration opens for OLLI members on Feb. 3. Non-members may register starting Feb. 9.
