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A difficult history finds a wider classroom

Timothy Snyder’s U of T course on Hitler and Stalin moves online, opening a demanding set of questions to a larger audience.

A U of T history course finds a wider classroom online.
IdeasA U of T history course finds a wider classroom online.Photo: University of Toronto / official source image

Timothy Snyder’s course on Hitler and Stalin is now available on YouTube, carrying a U of T classroom conversation beyond the people who could sit in the room.

The format changes the audience, not the subject. Historical thinking still asks for patience, distinctions and an ability to resist the easy story—the same habits that make a public conversation worth having.

Sources 1
  1. Original reporting · utoronto.ca
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This story is from the August 2026 issue of Alumni Digest · U of T. It's free, monthly and independent.

Alumni Digest is independent and is not an official University of Toronto publication. Stories summarize the public reporting linked under each piece; photographs belong to the credited sources and remain under rights review.