From Agrarian Studies to Zoos: Professor Tracy McDonald Speaks about Her Interests
Tracy McDonald is a professor of Russian and Soviet History at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. In 2011, her first book, Face to the Village: The Riazan Countryside Under Soviet Rule was published by the University of Toronto Press in 2011. Currently she is conducting research for a book titled Behind the Iron Bars: A History of Soviet Zoos. She presented a lecture ‘Saving Beauty: Moscow and Leningrad Zoos during the Second World War’ in the HSE, Moscow and kindly agreed to answer a few questions for the HSE news service.
— Professor McDonald, your areas of interest include social and cultural history, micro-history, film, agrarian studies, violence, and animal studies. And the majority of your work is about Russia and the Soviet Union. How did you become involved in Russian history? What inspired you?
— I had always been interested in history in general, and also, specifically in Russian history, from even before I started university. Initially, as an undergraduate, because I had studied Spanish, I was drawn to Latin American history but later became very interested in the history of Early-Modern Europe. After reading about Early-Modern European history and taking a lot of history courses on Russia and the Soviet Union, I became interested in applying some of the methodology used by the historians of Early-Modern Europe to the study of Russia.
— How do you choose items for your studies?
— I think I initially was drawn to agrarian studies because of the influence of Robert Johnson and Lynne Viola at the University of Toronto but also because the methodologies of Early-Modern history that intrigued me drew me toward the countryside. In particular I was interested in the use of sources generated by the legal system to better understand historical actors who otherwise rarely left a written record. Peter Solomon, at the University of Toronto, also played a role in my interest in the legal system and is always an excellent interlocutor.
The most influential course that I took as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto was a course on silent Soviet cinema. More than any other course, that course sustained my interest in the early Soviet period and probably led me to focus on the 1920s for my dissertation and first book. That course also led me to develop my own course on the history of the Soviet Union through film. These interests led naturally into my working on documentary films as part of a company which I co-founded called Chemodan Films.
As an historian interested in social history and the 'history of the voiceless,' human-animal studies seemed like a logical progression.
— You've been talking about the history of Soviet zoos while you’ve been at the HSE Moscow. What do you find most appealing about the history of Soviet zoos?
— I think what is most productive about a history of Soviet zoos is that such a focus changes the prism through which we ask historical questions. It adds another dimension to our study of history, that is often ignored, and that is the massive part non-human animals play in our history. Moreover, Soviet zoos were also massive cultural-scientific institutions that needed to lobby for state resources and to respond to state pressure and campaigns over time. Studying such things allows the historian to look at these campaigns and pressures within new boundaries. A history of Soviet zoos allows the historian to engage simultaneously in economic history, intellectual history, history of science, institutional history, social history, cultural history, diplomatic history, and human-nonhuman animal studies.
— What are your impressions of your visit to Moscow HSE?
— I have been very impressed with the HSE in Moscow. I thought it was a lively, professional, intellectual institution operating at a very high level. I was impressed by the level of commitment and the amount of time and energy that students, professors, and staff devote to the HSE. I attended the HSE’s World War One conference and I thought it was one of the most well-organized and stimulating conferences that I have ever attended.
— Do you have any particular plans for further cooperation with the HSE?
— I very much hope to work with the HSE in the future. I am in the very early stages of trying to build a 'research bridge' between HSE and my university in Canada. I’m still trying to work out the details, however.
I would just like to thank HSE for their research support and assistance in Moscow. The HSE made my trip much more productive and enjoyable. Thank you to everyone I met at HSE and to everyone who helped me, talked with me and/or attended my talk.
Anna Chernyakhovskaya, specially for the HSE news service
See also:
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How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Nine: Big Connections
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How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Eight: The Russian Field of Experiments
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How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Seven: German Efficiency
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How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Six: The Telephone's Misadventures in France
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How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Five: From the US Free Market to Conservative Britain
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