Prior Events

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December 6, 2016. Andy spoke at annual gala dinner of the American Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation.

November 11, 2016. Andy spoke at TEDx Charlottesville about his Books Behind Bars program:  “The Inmate, the Student, and Tolstoy.”

September 13, 2016. Andy spoke at Rotary Club of Charlottesville: “A Recipe for Making a Difference and Changing Lives.”

May 12, 2016. Andy delivered the 2016 Annual Charles H. Hackley Distinguished Lecture, Hackley Public Library, Muskegon, Michigan.

January 13-14, 2016. Andy spoke at the University of Oregon about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times and his Books Behind Bars program

October 17, 2015. Andy was honored at awards ceremony for his book, Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times, which was a Finalist for the 2015 Library of Virginia’s Award for Nonfiction as well as the 2015 Library of Virginia’s People’s Choice Award for Nonfiction.

September 19, 2015. Andy delivered the keynote address, “Tolstoy’s Take on How to Love, Live, and Lead in Uncertain Times,” at the annual corporate event for Eehoorn LLC.

August 11, 2015. Andy speaks to University of Virginia Jefferson Scholars about the Books Behind Bars program at the Institute for Leadership and Citizenship, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, University of Virginia.

April 9, 2015. Andy is the annual speaker for the Elizabeth B. Neatrour Russian Studies Lecture Series, James Madison University, 5:30 pm. His talk is called “Transforming Lives With Russian Literature.”

March 28, 2015. Andy gives the plenary lecture, “Transforming Lives With Russian Literature,” at the Central American Russian Teacher’s Association, Dallas, TX.

March 20, 2015. Andy speaks about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times  at the Virginia Festival of the Book, UVA Harrison Institute/Small Special Collections, 10 am.

March 12, 2015. Andy gives the keynote address, “Give War and Peace a Chance,” delivered as part of the American Conversations series at the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

March 11, 2015. Andy speaks about the Books Behind Bars program at the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

February 18, 2015. Andy guesthosts an extended chat about War and Peace and Tolstoy on the official Leo Tolstoy Facebook page, with nearly two million fans.

January 14, 2015. Andy speaks about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times  at Mandel Jewish Community Center of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, 5:30 pm.

December 7, 2014. Andy speaks about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times at The Writer House, Charlottesville, Virginia, 2 pm.

November 7, 2014. Andy speaks to University of Virginia Jefferson Scholars about the Books Behind Bars program and Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times, University of Virginia.

November 5, 2014. Conversation between Andrew Kaufman and Dana Sachs about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times at LitCh@t, 4 – 5 pm.

October 27, 2014. Reception and keynote talk by Andy about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times at Seminary Co-op Bookstore, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., 5:30-7:00. Event details here.

September 4, 2014. Andy speaks about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times at Stone Soup Books & Cafe, 908 West Main Street, Waynesboro, Virginia, 7:00 pm.

August 15, 2014. Andy speaks at the Aspen Institute’s Society of Fellows Fireside Chat and Reception: “Transforming Lives Through Literature.” He will speak about his book Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times and Books Behind Bars program, 5:30 – 7:00 pm. Learn more.

August 7, 2014. Andy speaks to University of Virginia Jefferson Scholars about the Books Behind Bars program at the Institute for Leadership and Citizenship, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, University of Virginia.

July 27, 2014. Andy interviews acclaimed fiction writer Josh Weil about his new novel The Great Glass Sea at literary salon event, The Writer House, Charlottesville, Virginia.

July 12, 2014. CSPAN’s Book TV airs Andy’s book talk about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times,  2014.  Click here for program dates and times. 

June 18-20, 2014. Andy is a featured speaker at Ken Bain’s Best Teachers Summer Institute, Montclair, NJ. He’ll talk to an international audience of college faculty and administrators about Books Behind Bars and his other teaching experiments.

June 11, 2014. Andy speaks about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times at Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC, 7:30 pm

June 10, 2014. Andy speaks about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times at The Regulator Bookshop, Durham, NC, 7:00 pm

June 5, 2014. Andy speaks about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times at Barnes and Noble, Charlottesville, VA, 7:00 pm

June 2, 2014. Andy speaks about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times at Politics and Prose, Washington, DC, 7:00 pm

May 22, 2014. Andy speaks about Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times at Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, VA, 6:30 pm

May 20, 2014. Book launch reading and reception for Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times  at New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main Street, Charlottesville, VA, 5:30 pm

May 16, 2014. Katie, the nationally syndicated daytime talk show hosted by Katie Couric, airs a story about Andy’s Books Behind Bars program, featuring a video of the class, followed by interviews with Andy and a few of his students before a live studio audience.

October 13, 2013. Invited talk, 8th Annual Teen Culture Conference: “Rehabilitating Incarcerated Youth Through the Power of Literature.”

June 2013. Invited talk and workshop, Ken Bain’s Best Teachers Summer Institute, Montclair, New Jersey 011): “Creating a Transformative Classroom Experience: Engaging Students Through Learning By Doing.”

October 2011. Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education Annual Conference (October 2011):  “Humans and the Humanities: Engaging Visions for Teaching in Tough Times.”

June 2011. Invited talk, Tolstoy Museum and Estate, Yasnaya Polyana: “Russian Classics Behind Bars in the U.S.A.,” (in Russian).

June 2011. International Tolstoy Conference, Tolstoy Museum and Estate, Yasnaya Polyana: “Two Forms of Illumination in Anna Karenina, or Why Anna Dies and Levin Lives” (in Russian).

February 2011. Invited talk, Research Academy for University Learning, Montclair State University:  “Putting Human Beings Back Into the Humanities: the Books Behind Bars Program at the University of  Virginia.”

October 2010. Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education Annual Conference, with Dorothe Bach and Deandra Little of the Teaching Resource Center at the University of Virginia:  “Supporting Faculty in Educating Global Citizens,” with Dorothe Bach and Deandra Little of the Teaching.

May 2010. Invited talk, co-sponsored by the Teaching Resource Center and Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, University of Virginia: “Can Service Learning Revive the Humanities?”

March 2010. Invited talk, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, University of Virginia): “Books Behind Bars: Life, Literature, and Leadership.”

March 2009. Southern Conference on Slavic Studies: “Bringing Literature to Life Through Community Engagement.”

Februrary 2009. Invited keynote address, “Big Read” Celebration, co-sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, Regent University:  “Give War and Peace a Chance: How Tolstoy Can Change Your Life.”

Feburary 2009. Invited talk and workshop about Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Virginia Beach Correctional Facility.

June 2008. Tolstoy Museum and Estate, Yasnaya Polyana:  “Between Achilles and Christ: Olenin’s Spiritual Quest in The Cossacks” (in Russian).

September 2007. Invited talk, National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, DC:  “The Death of Ivan Ilyich and the Life of Americans Today.”

July 2007. Invited talk, Gorky Institute of World Literature, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow:  “L. N. Tolstoy and N. N. Strakhov: Labyrinths of Creative Cohesions” (in Russian).

March 2007. Central Association of Russian Teachers of America Annual Conference:  “From Tolstoy to Tinseltown to Training in Russia: Reflections on Crossing Pedagogical Borders.”