Taking Oprah's example to our campuses

[Andrew Kaufman]

As one of the American Tolstoy experts working for Oprah's Book Club this
summer, I found the
"Oprah Interviews Lev Nikolaevich" piece hilarous. (From:    Carol Flath
<flath at DUKE.EDU>
Subject: Oprah Interviews Tolstoi)

The piece also captures (probably unintentionally) something important about
the role of serious books/serious ideas within our contemporary media
culture. The media wins. For better or worse, we live in a "society of the
spectacle," which is driven by the need for immediate gratification over the
desire for deeper kinds of knowledge.

Rather than disillusioning me, however, my Oprah experience has actually
deepened my awareness of the contemporary relevance of the Russian classics
to people's lives. I am convinced that there is an even larger potential
pool of future Russian majors on our campuses than we once thought.
We need to be even more creative, proactive, and "media-savvy" in
demonstrating to them how the study of Russian culture can contribute to
their longterm professional and personal goals. Oprah was able to do this
with a national audience. I am convinced that we Slavists can do it even
better on our own campuses!

I'd be interested in beginning a discussion with others on this important
issue. Let's pull together our collective experiences and find new ways to
bring Russian literature to the masses--the American masses.



Andy Kaufman, Ph.D.
Independent Scholar
13141 Riverside Drive, Suite 304
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
Office: 818 386 9339
Mobile: 818 723 2009
www.professorandy.com




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