2020

Honorable Mention: Brendan McGeever
Title: Antisemitism and the Russian Revolution (Cambridge University Press)

In his book, Antisemitism and the Russian Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2019), Brendan McGeever presents a close study of the Bolsheviks’ relationship to anti-Semitism in the Russian Revolution and first decade of the Soviet state. He reports on what he argues to be understudied facts of pogroms and particularly pogroms on and from the Left in the revolutionary years. He navigates Bolshevik responses, describing their awareness of widespread latent anti-Semitism among supporters and potential supporters, and finds political calculations and ethical commitments in the various responses. This study is especially timely for its implications in thinking about how political movements engage with racism or fail to do so.

Winner: Sean Griffin