Object of Study

What we’re looking at in class

Restored or Conquered?

This medal was commissioned by Catherine the Great in 1793, commemorating the Russian Empire’s annexation of lands from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Second Partition. One side features a portrait of the Empress; the other, a double-headed eagle brandishing maps of the conquered territories, which fall within the present-day borders of Belarus and Ukraine. In an inscription across the top of the medal, the Empress declares her triumph: “I have restored what had been torn away.”

This 18th-century propaganda message likely rings familiar to anyone following news from this part of the world today, as the Russian Federation’s invasion and attempted territorial conquests of Ukraine are once again presented by the Kremlin in terms of restoration, return, and reunion. In fact, replicas of this medal were made by a Russian ultra-nationalist group following the Russian Federation’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Studying the 18th-century original alongside the 21st-century replica, we are prompted to think critically about how ideological messages are encoded all around us, and how cultural heritage and history can be weaponized in this process. This medal also prompts us to think about the power of poetic language and symbolic images, leading us to examine their role in building and welding—yet also in resisting —the power of the state.

My students and I will be studying Catherine the Great’s commemorative medals, as well as a variety of other ceremonial and decorative objects, in the course “Russian 371 - Russian Literature and Culture from Medieval to Romantic,” offered in Spring

2023. —NAOMI CAFFEE [RUSSIAN]

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Reed is grateful to our committed alumni volunteer leaders who continue to give their time and vast talents in service to the college and alumni community. Thank you. It is an honor and a joy to work with you.

Alumni Board

alea adigweme ’06 PRESIDENT Dave Baxter ’87 VICE PRESIDENT Dylan Rivera ’95 SECRETARY Melissa Osborne ’13 PAST PRESIDENT Michael Axley ’89 ALUMNI TRUSTEE Christine Lewis ’07 ALUMNI TRUSTEE Darlene Pasieczny ’01 ALUMNI TRUSTEE Lisa Saldana ’94 ALUMNI TRUSTEE Jon Bates ’67 AT-LARGE MEMBER Sirius Bonner ’05 AT-LARGE MEMBER

Ian Fisher ’07 AT-LARGE MEMBER Carmen García Durazo ’11 AT-LARGE MEMBER

Liz Gilkey ’01 AT-LARGE MEMBER Katie Halloran ’15 AT-LARGE MEMBER Ashlin Hatch ’17 AT-LARGE MEMBER Andy McLain ’92 AT-LARGE MEMBER David Messner ’90 AT-LARGE MEMBER Rennie Meyers ’15 AT-LARGE MEMBER Peter Miller ’06 AT-LARGE MEMBER Govind Nair ’83 AT-LARGE MEMBER Laramie Silber ’13 AT-LARGE MEMBER Marjorie Skinner ’01 AT-LARGE MEMBER

Jac Nelson ’13 PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT Alix Sanchez ’08 PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT Eve Lyons ’95 CHAPTER LEADERSHIP COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE Andrei Stephens ’08 CHAPTER LEADERSHIP COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE

Alumni Fundraising for Reed Steering Committee

Cori Savaiano ’11 CO-CHAIR Kyndra Homuth Kennedy

’04 CO-CHAIR Keith Allen ’83 David Buckler ’85 Caroll Casbeer ’10 Jay Hubert ’66 Advait Jukar ’11 Charli Krause ’09 Katherine Lefever ’07 Christine Lewis ’07 Jan Liss ’74 Heather Rode Niemi ’00 Dylan Rivera ’95 Andrew Schpak ’01 Lara Simonetti ’20 Michael Stapleton ’10 Anne Steele ’70 Andrei Stephens ’08 Carlie Stolz ’13 Marcia Yaross ’73 Janet Youngblood ’68

Chapter Leadership Council

Johanna Colgrove ’92 CLC CHAIR AND EUROPE CHAPTER CHAIR Andrei Stephens ’08 PAST CLC CHAIR AND REPRESENTATIVE TO

THE ALUMNI BOARD Carlie Stolz ’13 AUSTIN CHAPTER Dieter Dehlinger ’01 BAY AREA CHAPTER

Eve Lyons ’95 BOSTON CHAPTER AND REPRESENTATIVE TO THE

ALUMNI BOARD Justin Corban ’04 CHICAGO CHAPTER Andrew Korson ’04 DENVER CHAPTER Peter Miller ’06 NEW YORK CHAPTER Jim Quinn ’83 PORTLAND CHAPTER Emily Allen ’19 PUGET SOUND CHAPTER Wayne Clayton ’82 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER Lee De Cola ’66 WASHINGTON, D.C., CHAPTER Bennett Barsk ’82 FORMER WASHINGTON, D.C., CHAIR