Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD

William and Julia Moulden Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Professor, Department of History College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Villanova University

  • Villanova PA

Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD, is an expert in Russian history, specifically the history of charity and social welfare.

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Villanova University

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Areas of Expertise

Russian History
Russian and Soviet History
Russian Literature
History and Biography
European History
Women's History
Environmental History
Development of Voluntarism and Civil Societies
Liberal Arts Education

Biography

Russian history and culture have long been a point of fascination for Dr. Lindenmeyr. She has researched the history of charity and social welfare in Russia, tracing its evolution from a civil society with privately funded, organized relief for the poor to an autocratic state like Imperial Russia, to today’s new Russia, a reconstructed civil society underpinned by a network of private charities and organizations. She is also an expert on Russian women’s history. Dr. Lindenmeyr has done extensive research on Sofia Panina and the Russian Revolution, the topic of her new book titled "Citizen Countess: Sofia Panina and the Fate of Revolutionary Russia."

Dr. Lindenmeyr was appointed Dean of Villanova’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2014. She can discuss the importance of a liberal arts education in today's higher education landscape.

Education

Princeton University

PhD

History

University of Pennsylvania

BA

Russian Language and Literature

Select Accomplishments

Panelist, International Forum for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies

2018-12-06

Panelist at the 50th annual Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies Convention. Established in 1948, ASEEES is the leading international organization dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia and Eastern Europe in regional and global contexts.

Panelist, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Kenan Institute

2017-02-24

Panelist at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Kenan Institute event marking the 100th anniversary of the 1917 Russian revolution.

Heldt Prize for Best Book Published by a Woman in Slavic Studies from the Association for Women in Slavic Studies

Won the award for her book "Poverty Is Not A Vice: Charity, Society, and the State in Imperial Russia" (Princeton University Press, 1996).

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Affiliations

  • Co-editor of an international project devoted to publishing new research on Russian history during World War I and the 1917 Revolution, titled Russia’s Great War and Revolution, 1914-1921.

Select Media Appearances

Sofia Panina and the Fate of Revolutionary Russia

New Books Network  online

2019-12-31

Once one of the wealthiest members of the Russian aristocracy, Sofia Panina spent her final years living on a pension while in exile from her homeland. Adele Lindenmeyr’s book Citizen Countess: Sofia Panina and the Fate of Revolutionary Russia recounts the eventful life of this remarkable woman, who through her dedication to helping others broke many of the barriers facing the women of her era.

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The Boris and Bill Show

Podcast: What Really Happened  online

2018-10-31

President Bill Clinton and President Boris Yeltsin were ready to change the world. Their epic press conferences and newly released phone transcripts reveal a sincere friendship. But, as time went on, things got complicated, and led to Vladimir Putin. Guests: Adele Lindenmeyr (Professor of History and Dean of Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)

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How to Help Your Department Avoid the Ax

The Chronicle of Higher Education  

2017-05-19

Adele Lindenmeyr, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova, says philosophy and other liberal-arts programs have become endangered over the last several years. At Villanova, the number of (Philosophy) majors has nearly doubled to 34, from 18.

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Research Grants

Fellowship

National Endowment for the Humanities

2008-2009

Likhachev Foundation

Cultural Fellowship

2008

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Research Grant

American Philosophical Society

1998

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Select Academic Articles

“The First Woman in Russia”: Countess Sofia Panina and Women’s Political Participation in the Revolutions of 1917

Journal of Modern Russian History and Historiography

Lindenmeyr, Adele

2016-10-17

The unique political career of philanthropist Countess Sofia Panina in 1917 provides insight into the problem of women's political participation in the Revolution. Panina could be found in almost all of Petrograd's major power centers: the Kadet Central Committee, the Petrograd Duma, and the Provisional Government, where she was the only female assistant minister. Yet her political involvement before October was mainly limited to the feminine sphere of education and social service.

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A Public Empire: Property and the Quest for the Common Good in Imperial Russia

Slavic Review

Lindenmeyr, Adele

2015-07-01

A review of the book "A Public Empire: Property and the Quest for the Common Good in Imperial Russia" by Ekaterina Pravilova.

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An Ordinary Marriage: The World of a Gentry Family in Provincial Russia. By Katherine Pickering Antonova

Journal of Social History

Lindenmeyr, Adele

2015-03-01

Like a Russian novel, the book is populated by memorable characters—Andrei Chikhachev and his wife Natalia; Natalia's bachelor brother Yakov; their neighbors and friends; and last but far from least, the serfs amidst whom they lived.

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