10/06/2026
While the topic of the September 29th visit by Russian American author and NY Times op-ed columnist M. Gessen was autocracy, many of the biggest lessons involved writing. Gessen writes their columns with pen and paper. They teach a weeklong intensive course on โwriting as thinking.โ
Fellow journalist Elena Kostyuchenko, the James K. Batten Professor of Russian Studies, joined Gessen for a public event. The two recalled the growth of autocracy in Russia where the governmentโs decrees in black and white ink sparred with reporting by journalists.
From a shared stage in the United States, their message: read and write carefully to be guardians of democracy. ๐ณ๏ธ
Thank you to everyone who attended and thank you to the students, faculty, and community members for your wonderful questions during the Q&A segment of the event! ๐