Susan Weissman  |  Interests  |  Scholarship  

Education:

• Ph.D. Soviet Studies, Institute of Soviet and East European Studies, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1991
  Dissertation: Victor Serge: Political, Social, & Literary Critic of the USSR, 1919-1947, The Reflections and Activities of a Belgo-Russian Revolutionary Caught In the Orbit of Soviet Political History
• M.Phil Soviet Studies, Institute of Soviet and East European Studies, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1976
  Thesis: A Social and Political Analysis of the Dominant Currents in the Soviet Russian Intellectual Opposition, 1964-1975, As Revealed in the Samizdat Reaching the West.
• A.B. English Literature, Stanford University, 1972

Teaching Experience:

• Professor - Saint Mary's College of CA (2003)
• Associate Professor, Department of Politics - Saint Mary's College of California (1995 - 2003)
• Assistant Professor, Department of Government - St. Mary's College of California (1992 - 1995)
• Liberal Studies and Modern History Departments - Otis Parsons Art Institute (1986 - 1992)
  A Division of The New School for Social Research, Los Angeles
• Teacher, American History and World History - Concord International High School (1985 - 1986)

Professional Experience:

• Consultant - Asaltar Los Cielos (1996)
  Spanish documentary film, winner of 1996 Berlin Prize, on Leon Trotsky's assassin, Ramon Mercader. Produced by Cero en Conducta
• Editorial Associate - Contention (1991 - 1992)
  (Editor: Nikkie Keddie), Published by Indiana University Press, edited at the University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
• Consultant - Victor (1989 - 1990)
  Documentary Film on Victor Serge, produced by John Eden for Channel 4, Britain. [not released]
• Education and Fundraising Coordinator - Committee of Concern (1984 - 1985)
• Associate Editor - The Rebel (1983 - 1984)
  Weekly news magazine (circulation 250,000)
• Producer and host of weekly public radio shows - KPFK, Los Angeles (1981 - Present)
  "Beneath the Surface," 1994-present; "The New World Disorder," 1993-1995; "Portraits of the USSR," 1981-1993; "Read All About It," 1981- 94
• Public Affairs Producer - KPFK -- Pacifica Radio (1981 - 1984)
• Public Affairs producer of radio documentaries and magazines - (1980 - 1985)
  List of Programs available on request
• Managing Editor - Critique (1977 - 1979)
  scholarly journal of Soviet Studies, University of Glasgow

Awards:

• 1999 Movers and Shakers Award for Journalism - Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research (1999)
  awarded for "unparalleled knowledge of world politics - especially in the former Soviet Union - [which] has sparked critical debate and discussion on KPFK for close to two decades."
• Faculty Development Awards -
  1992-2001

Fellowships:

• Research Fellow - Praxis International, Center for Russian Research, Moscow (May 1999)
  Affiliated to GARF, State Archives of Russian Federation in Moscow.
• Fellow - Trotsky Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow State University, Institute of Economics

Presentations:

Selected Presentations

• Mark Zborowski: Stalin's Spy in the Left Opposiiton. Weissman, Susan (panel or forum member)
  ASEEES (Association of Slavic & East European Studies) and Spy Museum
  (November 2011)
• Marc Zborowski: Stalin's Spy in the International Left. Weissman, Susan
  32nd Annual Convention, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS), Washington DC
  (November 17, 2001)
• Chair: "Is The Market the Answer?". Weissman, Susan (panel or forum chair, moderator, or leader)
  32nd Annual Convention AAASS, Washington DC
  (November 15, 2001)
• Victor Serge and Anti-Totalitarian Socialism. Weissman, Susan
  Centre for Research and Education "Praxism," Moscow State University, Moscow
  (September 29, 2001)
• Victor Serge's Anarchism. Weissman, Susan
  Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
  (June 14, 2001)
• Victor Serge and the Future of Socialism. Weissman, Susan
  Socialist Scholars Conference, Cooper Union, New York
  sponsored by Ph.D. Program in Sociaology, CUNY Grad Center, New York
  (April 15, 2001)
• Marc Zborowski, Stalin's Agent in Parisian and American Leftist Circles. Weissman, Susan
  Brown Bag Lunch Seminars, Saint Mary's College of California
  (April 02, 2001)
• In Memoriam: Daniel Singer. Weissman, Susan
  New York
  (March 10, 2001)
• Victor Serge and the USSR. Weissman, Susan
  University of the Urals, Ekaterinburg
  (January 26, 2001)
• Victor Serge and U.S. Intellectuals. Weissman, Susan
  International Conference on Explorations in the History of U.S. Trotskyism, Tamiment Library, New York University
  (September 29, 2000)
• "Why Yeltsin Had to Fail," Chair and Discussant. Weissman, Susan
  VI ICCEES World Congress, Tampere, Finland
  (August 03, 2000)
• The Banality of Cowardice: Marc 'Etienne' Zborowski, Stalin's Master Spy in the Left Opposition. Weissman, Susan
  (Panel title: The Black Web of Stalin's NKVD in Europe, China and the Americas), VI International Council For Central and East European Studies (ICCEES) World Congress, Tampere, Finland
  (July 31, 2000)
• El fracaso de la transición capitalista en Rúsia. Weissman, Susan
  University of Camahue, Neuquen, Patagonia, Argentina
  This was a day-long seminar at the University
  (June 02, 2000)
• La Restauración capitalista en Rusia. Weissman, Susan
  Seminario Internacional, Decadencia y Crisis del Capitalismo en el Umbral del Siglo XXI
  Facultad de Filosofia y Letras de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
  (May 29, 2000)
• "From Sovietology to Post-Soviet Studies: Another Failed Transition," Chair and discussant. Weissman, Susan
  31st National Convention, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, Saint Louis
  (November 18, 1999)
• Restructuring and its Results: Wage Warriors, Students, and Repression. Weissman, Susan
  International Academic Conference of the Institute of Economics, Russian Academy of Sciences: The World Crisis of Capitalism and the Post-Soviet States, Moscow
  (October 30, 1999)
• NATO, Kosova, and the International Left. Weissman, Susan
  International Conference sponsored by the Center of Socio-Economic Theory of the Department of Political Economy of Lomonosov Moscow State University, "Russia in the Global Information Society"
  plenary session on the international implications of the war in Kosovo
  (June 19, 1999)
• Victor Serge at the Crossroads of the Fourth International. Weissman, Susan
  Institute for Trotsky Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Economics, Moscow
  (June 16, 1999)
• Russia's Current Crisis: It's Worse than World War II. Weissman, Susan
  Socialist Scholars Conference, New York
  Radical Philosophy Association roundtable with Suzi Weissman (St. Mary's College of CA), Alexander Buzgalin, (Lomonosov Moscow State University); Hillel Ticktin (Institute of Russian and East European Studies, University of Glasgow); Savas Michael-Matsas (Nea Proptiki, Athens, Greece); Michael Hudson (Institute for the Study of Long-term Economic Trends, New York)
  (April 10, 1999)
• Economic Crisis in Russia. Weissman, Susan
  University of California, Berkeley
  (October 22, 1998)
• The Communist Manifesto from 1848-1998. Weissman, Susan
  Jewish Workman's Circle, Los Angeles
  panel with Paul Buhle, Suzi Weissman
  (June 20, 1998)
• The Communist Manifesto on its 150th Birthday, plenary speaker. Weissman, Susan
  Glasgow University, International Conference on the Significance of the Communist Manifesto
  (May 1998)
• "The Sorry State of South African Socialism," Chair. Weissman, Susan
  Socialist Scholars Conference
  (March 22, 1998)
• Global Crisis: East and West, roundtable panelist. Weissman, Susan
  Socialist Scholars Conference
  (March 21, 1998)
• The Invisible International. Weissman, Susan
  Socialist Scholars Conference, New York
  (March 20, 1998)
• Kronstadt and the Russian Revolution. Weissman, Susan
  International Scientific Conference, Moscow
  sponsored by Institute of Economics, Russian Academy of Sciences and the International Committee for the Study of L.D. Trotsky's Legacy
  (October 28, 1997)
• Vida y Obra: Roberto Naduris. Weissman, Susan
  Noticiero Pacifica -- 16 años: Tributo a la memoria de Roberto Naduris
  sponsored by Noticiero Pacifica KPFK 90.7fm, Oscar Arnulfo Romero Unitarian Congregation and First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles
  (May 18, 1997)
• The Russian Revolution and The Russian Question. Weissman, Susan
  panel "The Legacy of the Russian Revolution after Eighty Years," The 1997 Socialist Scholars Conference, CUNY, New York City
  (March 30, 1997)
• Serge and Trotsky's Exchange on Kronstadt. Weissman, Susan
  Centre for Socialist Theory and Movements, Glasgow University Conference, London, England
  (February 01, 1997)
• October Revolution, Ideals and Distortions. Weissman, Susan
  UCLA
  (December 07, 1996)
• Revolution Betrayed and Destiny of a Revolution. Weissman, Susan
  International Scientific Conference, Institute of Economics, Russian Academy of Sciences and the International Committee for the Study of L.D. Trotsky's Legacy, Moscow
  (November 22, 1996)
• Chair and Discussant, panel "Transition: What Transition?". Weissman, Susan
  28th National Convention, AAASS (American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies), Boston
  (November 14, 1996)
• Chair and Moderator, St. Mary's forum "Media and Politics: Are They Driving Us Crazy?". Weissman, Susan
  Committee for Lectures, Art and Music, and the Communications and Government departments
  featuring Van Gordon Sauter, Belva Davis, Marc Cooper and Nelson Polsby
  (September 18, 1996)
• Moderator and Chair: "Where is the US Going? American Politics on the Eve of the Elections". Weissman, Susan
  Verso Press and Solidarity, Los Angeles
  featuring Alexander Cockburn and Robert Brenner, public forum sponsored by KPFK, The Nation
  (May 10, 1996)
• Symmetrical crises of democracy? Post-Stalinist Russia and Late-Capitalist America. Weissman, Susan
  in panel "From the Funeral Pyres of Stalinism and Social Democracy, Marxism Returns!"Critique Panel, Socialist Scholars Conference, New York
  (April 14, 1996)
• Trotsky's Revolution Betrayed: Significance in post-Soviet Period. Weissman, Susan
  in panel "The Revolution Betrayed: 60 Years Later, " at Fourteenth Annual Socialist Scholars Conference, CUNY Manhattan
  (April 13, 1996)
• Public forum in Los Angeles "The French Strike Wave". Weissman, Susan
  featuring Daniel Singer and Suzi Weissman, sponsored by The Nation, Against the Current, and KPFK
  (April 05, 1996)
• Serge and Trotsky's Views: Post Theories Strengths and Limitations. Weissman, Susan
  in panel: "Theories of the Nature of Disintegration of the Former Soviet Union," Fifth World Congress of ICCEES, (Internationa Council for Central and East European Studies), Warsaw, Poland
  (August 11, 1995)
• The Russian Trade Union and Socialist Movements Today. Weissman, Susan
  UCLA
  (May 06, 1995)
• Decline & Transition East and West. Weissman, Susan
  panel discussion sponsored by Departments of Government and Philosophy, St. Mary's College of CA
  (April 18, 1995)
• Privatization, the IMF and its Impact on the Russian People. Weissman, Susan
  Center for Community Economic Research of the Institute for Industrial Relations, University of California, Berkeley
  (April 12, 1995)
• The Rise of the Right, East and West. Weissman, Susan
  public Forum sponsored by KPFK, the U.S. Committee for Democratic and Human Rights in Russia, Solidarity, and Against the Current
  Forum broadcast on KPFK, 90.7 fm, Los Angeles.
  (April 10, 1995)
• The Politics of the Russian Left in Global Perspective. Weissman, Susan
  Conference on 'The Nature of Political Organization in the Transitional Epoch,' Centre for Studies in Socialist Theory and Movements (University of Glasgow) and Critique, London
  (February 03, 1995)
• Weekly interviews/round table discussions on Soviet/Post Soviet and East European Affairs, 1985-1993. Weissman, Susan (interview or commentator)
  Hoover Archives, Stanford University
  (The Hoover has collected 'aircheck' copies of the weekly radio program "Portraits of the USSR." Their holdings begin in 1985; 1981-1985 holdings in Pacifica Archives, Los Angeles.) Copies of these broadcast tapes can also be found at the Southern California Library for Social Research. From 1994-1999 the programs are on international affairs, first under the title "The New World Disorder" and then "Beneath the Surface." List of interviews available on request (there are more than 850).
• Twenty hours of interviews and commentary on the 1991 Soviet coup. Weissman, Susan (interview or commentator)
  August 19-29, 1991, broadcast on all Pacifica Radio outlets in the USA

Publications:

• Weissman, Susan. April 2007. Disintegrating Democracy -- from the promise of the Soviet since 1905 to the contemporary crisis of corrupt democratic forms, Critique 41, vol. 35, issue 1, Taylor & Francis
• Weissman, Susan. December 2006. Dissident dans la revolution, Victor Serge, une biographie politique, book, Syllepse
• Weissman, Susan. December 2006. A Veteran of the Epoch of Revolution Looks Forward: Trotsky, Serge and the Soviets, 100 Years of Permanent Revolution: Results and Prospects, eds. and Dunn, Bill and Radice, Hugo, Pluto Press
• Weissman, Susan. November 14, 2006. Victor Serge Pyeong-jeon [A critical biography of Victor Serge], book, Silcheon-munhak
• Weissman, Susan. May 2006. Gran Marcha and Beyond, Against the Current, vol. XXI, issue No. 2, Center for Changes
• Weissman, Susan. 2001. Victor Serge: The Course is Set on Hope, Book, Verso Books
• Weissman, Susan. 1997. Victor Serge: Life as a Work of Art, book, Critique Books, Merlin Press
• Weissman, Susan. 1996. Victor Serge, Russia Twenty Years After, ed. Weissman, Susan, Humanities Press
• Weissman, Susan. 1995. The Left Opposition Divided: The Trotsky-Serge Disputes, The Political Thought of Trotsky, eds. and Ticktin, Hillel H. and Cox, Michael E., Porcupine Books
• Weissman, Susan. 1994. Kronstadt and the Fourth International, The Serge-Trotsky Papers: Correspondence and Other Writings, ed. Cotteril, David, Pluto Press
• Weissman, Susan. 1989. Back in the USSR, Gorbachev's USSR: Is Stalinism Dead?, ed. Finamore, Carl, Walnut Publications