Anna Barker: 160th Anniversary of “Notes from Underground”

Dr Anna Barker received her Ph. D. in Comparative Literature in 2002 with a dissertation in translation studies at the University of Iowa, where she teaches courses on Russian literature and culture, including Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Her online tutorials include 100 Days of War and Peace, 100 Days of Brothers Karamazov, 100 Days of Les Misérables, and other courses. Dr Barker’s current tutorial, 100 Days of Charming Rotten Scoundrels (Eugene Onegin, Hero of Our Time, and Fathers and Sons) is conducted in anticipation of the September 1-December 10, 2024 100 Days of Crime and Punishment and the commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the publication of Notes from Underground. Under the title “Anna’s Thinking Cap,” Dr Barker writes a monthly column focusing on the intersection of history, literature, and culture for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. In collaboration with the University of Iowa Libraries, Dr Barker curated the exhibitions “Goya’s Disasters of War and Tolstoy’s War and Peace: A Dialogue Between Art and Literature” (2019) and “From Revolutionary Outcast to a Man of God: Dostoevsky at 200” (2021). Dr Barker is looking forward to teaching a course on Barbie in cultural, historical, and marketing context in the fall of 2024.