Alexander J. Motyl

Alexander J. Motyl (Ph.D., Columbia University, 1984) is professor of political science at Rutgers University-Newark. He served as associate director of the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in 1992-1998 and of the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers in 1999-2009; he has taught at Harvard, Lehigh, and Kyiv Mohyla Universities and lectured throughout Europe. Trained as a Sovietologist and East Europeanist, he has expanded his research interests to Western and Central Europe, especially with respect to the historical development of nations and nationalism, the rise and fall of empires, and the causes and consequences of revolutions. He is a regular contributor to Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs and is the author of seven academic books, nine novels, and two collections of poetry; also a painter, Motyl has exhibited in solo and group shows in New York, Philadelphia, and Toronto. Learn more about Alexander Motyl at alexmotyl.com.

Carol Reynolds

Dr. Carol Reynolds weaves history, humor, and high energy into everything she does. A musicologist, pianist, and organist, she specializes in Russian, East European, and German cultural history. Carol was a professor of music history for more than 20 years at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In addition to music, she is well versed in the history and fine arts of western Europe and Russia. Before becoming a professor, she studied at the Leningrad Conservatory and lived in West Germany.

Dr. Reynolds is a frequent Smithsonian Journeys Expert and has led tours through Russia, the Baltic States, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Croatia. She is fluent in Russian and German.  

A staunch advocate of Arts Education at every stage of life, she works with organizations like The Dallas Symphony, Van Cliburn Concerts, Kimball Museum, Opera America, and Smithsonian Associates. Carol has turned her attention to public speaking and the creation of online arts curricula and educational programs for adult audiences and secondary-school students.

Under the moniker Professor Carol, she publishes courses in cultural history for adults and students, including Discovering Music: 300 Years of Interaction in Western Music, Arts, History, and Culture, Exploring America’s Artistic Heritage, Imperial Russia, and Early Sacred Music. She and her husband Hank maintain a second home in Weimar (former East Germany).

Diana Toman

Born in Germany, Diana Toman grew up outside an idyllic medieval village close to the Rhine River. She was surrounded by nature and shaped by the music of Schumann and Schubert. From childhood on, she accompanied her mother, a singer, to performances in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Diana received degrees in Philosophy, Psychology and Comparative Literature attending Princeton University and Fordham University. In Graduate School she studied Psychology and worked as an intern at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital. She also pursued a graduate degree in Comparative Literature at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). Diana has taught Comparative Literature and German throughout the CUNY system, The Jewish Theological Seminary, etc.  She currently teaches at the Graduate Center (CUNY) and also coordinates the Language Reading Program which offers intensive courses [Latin, French, German, Spanish, etc.] for the translation of scholarly texts.  Some of life’s pleasures for her: viewing [not climbing!] snow-covered mountains, eating chocolate and watching the antics of her two cats, Kafka and Lola.