Guides: Alumni Travel Reading 2018-2019: Cruising the Baltic Sea

Russia

Russian Ark by Aleksandr Sokurov
Call Number: DVD Collection DVD 002 943
Publication Date: 2003
"[A] modern filmmaker magically finds himself transported to the 18th century. There he embarks on a time-traveling journey through 300 years of Russian history. Filmed with a cast of thousands, three live orchestras and an army of technicians, Russian Ark is the longest uninterrupted shot in film history, and the first feature film ever created in a single take." Click title above to preview trailer at Youtube.
Russia Before and after Crimea by Edited by Pål Kolstø and Helge Blakkisrud
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DK295 .R87 2018
ISBN: 9781474433853
Publication Date: 2018
Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 brought East-West relations to a low. At the same time, the Putin regime achieved record-high popularity. This book shows how the annexation of Crimea generated strong "rallying aroundthe nation" and "rallying around the leader" effects.
Nikita Khrushchev and the Creation of a Superpower by Sergei N. Khrushchev
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DK275.K5 K4874213 2000
ISBN: 0271019271
Publication Date: 2000
A biography of Nikita Khrushchev written by his son, Sergei, a Senior Fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute, who will speak during the cruise.
Khrushchev in Power: unfinished reforms, 1961-1964 by Sergei Khrushchev
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DK275.K5 K488513 2013
ISBN: 9781626370326
Publication Date: 2014
Translation of the first volume of the author's trilogy Nikita Khrushchev (Moskva: Vrem'ia, 2010).
St. Petersburg: A Cultural History by Solomon Volkov
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DK557 .V65 1995
ISBN: 0028740521
Publication Date: 1995
From the publisher: “A compelling portrait of a city and its transcendent artistic and spiritual legacy-written by a cultural historian who has known some of the greatest figures of modern St. Petersburg, including Balanchine, Shostakovich, Akhmatova, and Brodsky.”

The Hermitage Dwellers (DVD)

The Hermitage Dwellers. Dir. by Aliona van der Horst. Icarus Films, 2006. DVD. More information at Icarus Films Find in a library near you at Worldcat.org

THE HERMITAGE DWELLERS is as much about the people who work in Russia's renowned museum as it is about the glorious art works housed in this St. Petersburg institution. We meet with several "Hermitage-niks" . . . each of whom explains their own very personal reasons for considering the palace of Catherine the Great their "home."

The two minute clip below is from Youtube

Sweden

The Viking Age: A Time with Many Faces by Caroline Arcini
Call Number: Van Pelt Library. DL660 .A63 2018
ISBN: 9781785709388
Publication Date: 2018
This book takes an archaeological and anthropological approach to history. It uses results from the examination of a substantial corpus of Swedish osteological material to discuss aspects of demography and health in the Viking period.
Swedish Design by Keith M. Murphy
Call Number: Fine Arts Library. NK1461.A1 M87 2015
ISBN: 9780801479663
Publication Date: 2015
In this book, Keith M. Murphy examines the special relationship between politics and design in Sweden.
Sustainable Stockholm: Exploring Urban Sustainability in Europe's Greenest City by Jonathan Metzger (Editor); Amy Rader Olsson (Editor)
Call Number: Van Pelt Library HT243.S82 S778 2013
ISBN: 0415622123
Publication Date: 2013
From the publisher: “[U]sing the case of Stockholm as the pivot of discussions, Sustainable Stockholm investigates the core issues of sustainable urban environmental development and planning… The book shows how intersecting fields such as urban . . . that have contributed to making Stockholm Europe’s "greenest" city.” Also includes a brief history of Stockholm over the last two hundred years and several images and infographics.
Hanseatic Town of Visby (UNESCO Web site) by World Heritage List. UNESCO
The Hanseatic Town of Visby was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. The description provides a historical overview and documents the area’s unique features. The “Photos” tab is also recommended for perusing. Photo taken from World Heritage Sweden, Hanseatic Town of Visby.

Visby, Sweden

Streets of Visby. Photograph by Jerzy Kociatkiewicz. Obtained on flickr by Creative Commons license.

Baltic Sea

Bathymetric map of the Baltic Sea.
Map created by Oona Räisänen and

shared under a Creative Commons attribution share alike license

Bibliographer and Penn Alumni Travel

Selected and Annotated By:

Deborah Bishov
Penn Libraries

Updated 2018 by:

Rebecca Stuhr
Director for Liaison Services and
Librarian for Classical Studies

For more information about this and other excursions, visit Penn Alumni Travel.

Poland

Dancing Bears by Witold Szablowski
Call Number: Van Pelt Library. DR93.43 .S9313 2018
ISBN: 9780143129745
Publication Date: 2018
An account of people in formerly Communist countries holding fast to their former lives through the history of the practice of training bears to dance and what happened when the tradition was forced to end with the end of Communism.
Revolution and Counterrevolution in Poland, 1980-1989: Solidarity, Martial Law, and the End of Communism in Europe by Andrzej Paczkowski and Christina Manetti
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DK4442 .P33313 2015
ISBN: 9781580465366
Publication Date: 2015
Examines Poland's 1980 Solidarity revolution, the subsequent establishment of martial law in 1981, and Poland's transition to democracy in 1989.
The Struggle and the Triumph by Lech Walesa; Franklin Philip (Translator)
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DK4452.W34 A3 1992
ISBN: 1559701498
Publication Date: 1992
Lech Walesa’s autobiography, written while he was in office as Poland’s first directly elected president, is an account of his life as an electrician in the Gdansk shipyards, a leader of the Solidarity movement, and president of Poland.
Poland in the Modern World: Beyond Martyrdom by Brian Porter-Szücs
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DK4140 .P67 2014.
ISBN: 9781444332186
Publication Date: 2014
Poland in the Modern World presents a history of the country from the late nineteenth century to the present, incorporating new perspectives from a social, cultural and global history.

Estonia

Baltic Facades: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania since 1945 by Aldis Purs
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DK502.7 .P87 2012
ISBN: 9781861898968
Publication Date: 2012
By dispelling the myth of a single, coherent Baltic identity, Aldis Purs examines the unique natures of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, through their politics, economics, and social and cultural trends.
Historic Center (Old Town) of Old Tallinn by World Heritage List. UNESCO
The Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The description provides a historical overview and documents the area’s unique features. The “Photos” tab is also recommended for perusing.
The Singing Revolution (DVD) by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty
Call Number: Music DVD 1124
Publication Date: 2008
“Documents the Estonians between 1986 and 1991, as they took to the streets to sing forbidden songs in an effort to free themselves of the Soviet occupation.” Click the title link above to view a brief preview of the film.
Estonian Life Stories by Rutt Hinrikus
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DK503.745 .E3413 2009
ISBN: 9639776394
Publication Date: 2009
A collection of twenty-five Estonian oral histories. Most of the people interviewed were born during the first half of the twentieth century.

Architecture: Scandinavia

Nordic Light: Modern Scandinavian Architecture by Henry Plummer
Call Number: Fine Arts Library NA2794 P485 2012
ISBN: 050034275X
Publication Date: 2012
Looks at the use and influence of light in modern Scandinavian architecture, using approximately fifty examples of buildings in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway. Includes over four hundred color photographs of building interiors, exteriors, and details.
Nordic Architects by David B. Sokol
Call Number: Fine Arts Library NA1208 .S65 2008
ISBN: 9185213330
Publication Date: 2008
This book showcases the work of 65 Scandinavian architects and architectural firms, including a short interview with each one about their philosophy. Includes several hundred color images, as well as architectural drawings

Denmark

Copenhagen Tales by Helen Constantine (Editor); Lotte Shankland (Translator)
Call Number: Van Pelt Library PT8024.E5 C68 2014
ISBN: 9780199689118
Publication Date: 2015
Seventeen tales by some of the best of Denmark's writers past and present allow the reader to experience the city and its history from an insider's perspective.
Echoland by Per Petterson
Call Number: Van Pelt Library PT8951.26.E88 E5513 2016
ISBN: 1846554497
Publication Date: 2016
Staying with his parents and grandparents at the seaside in Denmark, Arvid cycles around town, down to the beach and its lighthouse, to enjoy his summertime freedom.
A History of Denmark by Knud J. V. Jespersen
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DL148 .J46 2011
ISBN: 0230273416
Publication Date: 2011
A compact introduction to Danish political and economic history from 1500 to the present. The author is the Royal Historiographer of Denmark, formerly professor of Modern History at the University of Southern Denmark.
Nothing to Speak Of by Sofie Lene Bak
Call Number: Katz Center Library DS135.D4 B33713 2011
ISBN: 8763539586
Publication Date: 2013
From the publisher: “[U]ncovers the human consequences of the world famous rescue of the Danish Jews from Nazi persecution during World War II… Based on new empirical material and more than one hundred interviews, the book now tells the story of what happened after October 1943: For the first time the long term consequences of escape, exile and deportation are portrayed.” Based on an exhibit at the Danish Jewish Museum.
Ghosts, Troubles, Difficulties, and Challenges: Narratives about Unexplainable Phenomena in Contemporary Denmark. by Kirsten Marie Raahauge
Publication Date: 2016, Vol. 65, p89-110, 22p
Ebscohost databases available to Penn alumni. Find out to connect here
Many people experience something that they cannot explain, often they hear something that is not there as a visible fact. Based on fieldwork on haunted houses in Denmark today, this article deals with the narratives of people who have experiences that they cannot explain and that they consider to be on the limits of reason.

Finland

Modern Finland by Harald Haarmann
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DL1012 .H33 2016
ISBN: 9781476662022
Publication Date: 2016
A look at modern Finlan through its history, culture, language, geography, natural history and the mythology of early peoples.
A Concise History of Finland by David Kirby
Call Number: Van Pelt Library DL1032 .K53 2006
ISBN: 052183225X
Publication Date: 2006
A history of Finland from medieval times through the turn of the twenty-first century. Includes images and a bibliography for further reading.
Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg
Call Number: Van Pelt Library LA1013.7 .S34 2011
ISBN: 0807752576
Publication Date: 2011
From the publisher: “Finnish Lessons is a first-hand, comprehensive account of how Finland built a world-class education system during the past three decades. The author traces the evolution of education policies in Finland and highlights how they differ from the United States and other industrialized countries.” Sahlberg is a visiting professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and previously worked in Finland as a teacher, teacher educator, and education policy maker.

Baltic Coast

Baltic Sea. Photograph by Manuela Hoffmann. Obtained on flickr with a Creative Commons license.