Dostoevsky for Children: The Many Afterlives of a Russian Classic

Dr. Megan Swift, University of Victoria

Dostoevsky is Russia’s best-known and most-translated writer, but his afterlife has been a complicated one. His mature works were deeply objectionable to the Soviets on the strength of their spirituality and anti-revolutionary views. Perhaps even more surprisingly, this author known for works dealing with dark themes has a long history in children’s and young adult publishing. In this talk, Canadian scholar of Russian studies Dr. Megan Swift explores how Dostoevsky was published for the young reader and in the school curriculum through the imperial, Soviet and post-Soviet periods.

Megan Swift is a professor at the University of Victoria in Canada and a specialist in Russian literature, culture and book art. Her first book, Picturing the Page, Illustrated Children’s Literature and Reading Under Lenin and Stalin (2020) won two book awards. Her second book is the edited volume Revolutionary Aftereffects: Material, Social and Cultural Legacies of 1917.

Program:

• Ólöf Garðarsdóttir, Dean of Humanities, University of Iceland: Welcoming remarks
• Megan Swift, professor, University of Victoria, BC: Dostoevsky for Children: The Many Afterlives of a Russian Classic
• Q&A session with the audience
• Light refreshments

The event will be held in English.
Admission is free of charge and all are welcome.

The lecture is organized by the School of Humanities and the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages, University of Iceland.