SLAVIC & EURASIAN STUDIES
African Americans and the Soviet Experience Russ 490S ("Special Topics") Spring 2024 Mondays & Wednesdays 1:25-2:40 Prof. JoAnne Van Tuyl jvtuyl@duke.edu Learn, talk about write about: • African-Americans moving to the USSR in the 1930's • A Soviet film project about American race relations that included Langston Hughes as script consultant • African Americans influencing Soviet foreign… read more about Spring 2024 Course Announcement »
New Course in Slavic Spring Semester 2024 Peasants in Revolutionary and Counter-Revolutionary Russian Literature and thought Jennifer Flaherty, Ph.D. MW 3:05-4:20 ALP/CZ Taught in English with a Russian Reading Option RUSS 376S, HIST 338S, LIT 359S read more about New Course in Slavic: Spring 2024 »
New Spring 2024 Course Offering The Brothers Karamazov Russian 335 Fyodor Dostoevsky TTh 4:40-5:55 ICS 339; LIT 335 Taught in English; Russian readers welcome questions? carol.apollonio@duke.edu read more about One Great Book »
Please join us in welcoming our newest Professor, Jennifer Flaherty! Jennifer Flaherty received her PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures from University of California, Berkeley in 2019. She's held academic appointments at the College of William & Mary, UC Berkeley, and the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. Flaherty's current book project, 'The Unsocial Society: Peasants and the Making of Russian Literary Modernity,' studies the role of class conflict in shaping nineteenth-century Russian literature. The project… read more about Welcome Jennifer Flaherty! »
Captain Nicholas Bruno, US Army, will be graduating with an MA in Russian Culture and Certificate in Slavic and Eurasian Studies. His thesis “Russian Diaspora Policy and the Near Abroad: An Indicator and Warning for Intervention” addresses the future ways and means of Russian foreign policy in Eurasia. After graduation, Captain Bruno will move to Garmisch, Germany as a Foreign Area Officer (FAO) Trainee and attend the Eurasian Foreign Area Officer Training Program at the George C. Marshall… read more about Congratulations to our Graduating Seniors »
Jennifer Nash, Jean Fox O'Barr Professor of Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies, minces no words summing up how care as a product is viewed in the United States. “I think care isn’t valued because it's women's work. Anything that women do is devalued.” From birth to death, everyone receives care at some point in their life. And the “care economy” is the economic activity generated by the provision of care services like childcare, elder care and health care. This includes both paid and unpaid work and can involve… read more about Vital but Invisible: How Women Drive the Care Economy in the United States »
Carol Apollonio, Professor of the Practice of Slavic and Eurasian Studies, has declined a Dostoevsky medal from the Russian Ministry of Culture. Apollonio, the late Robert Louis Jackson (of Yale), and Bill Todd (of Harvard) were named as winners of the prestigious honor. Apollonio’s response and reasoning for declining was outlined in her Nov. 12 letter to the Cultural Section of the Russian Consulate (reprinted below): "Thank you for notifying me that the Russian Ministry of Culture has awarded me a medal (“The Great… read more about Professor Declines Prestigious Dostoevsky Award »
The Arts & Sciences Council’s Committee on Undergraduate Teaching has announced this year’s recipients of awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Each recipient was recognized at the council’s Sept. 8 meeting, where Committee Chair Connel Fullenkamp expressed appreciation for the many nominations across all three Trinity divisions that included “creative and inspiring” portfolios. “It made our decision very difficult because there are so many varieties of excellence that we see in our community at Duke,” he… read more about Four Trinity Faculty Honored with 2022 Undergraduate Teaching Awards »
Maggie Pan, a Class of 2022 graduate who studied Psychology and Russian Literature, has received an Honorable Mention in the 2021-22 North American Dostoevsky Society undergraduate essay competition. The annual contest is judged by a jury of Dostoevsky scholars from across the continent. According to the Society, Pan's essay – “Master and Serf as Mind and Body: The role of Apollon in Notes from Underground” – offers an original and provocative interpretation of a minor character often neglected by Dostoevsky… read more about Recent Graduate Recognized in Dostoevsky Essay Competition »
More than a month into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it’s clear President Vladimir Putin’s hopes of a quick takeover were “wildly optimistic,” Professor Simon Miles said Monday. “Delusional strategies do not usually produce good outcomes. Strategies based on a pretty heady mix of lies and prejudice usually do not bear fruit,” said Miles, an assistant professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy who wrote a book about the end of the Cold War. Miles was one of several professors who offered their perspectives on the war… read more about Duke Professors Assess the Fallout from the Ongoing Devastation of Ukraine »
As the heavy Russian assault on Ukraine continued to target military and civilian sites alike, about 100 people gathered outside of Duke Chapel Tuesday to hear prayers, poems and reflections from faculty members and campus religious leaders. “We are gathered on this ground here to tell the people of Ukraine that you are not alone,” said the Rev. Kathryn Lester-Bacon, director of religious life at Duke Chapel. “We call attention to those who have suffered so much.” Representatives of the… read more about Community Gathers at Vigil for the People of Ukraine »
President Price shared his thoughts on the situation in Ukraine following the Russian invasion that began in February. read more about Statement by President Price on Ukraine »
Despite its overwhelming superiority in numbers, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has thus far not unfolded as President Vladimir Putin would have expected, Professor Simon Miles said Tuesday. “This has not been an impressive showing for the Russian military,” said Miles, an assistant professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy who wrote a book about the end of the Cold War. Miles was one of several professors from who offered their perspectives on the war in Ukraine before an online and in-person Duke audience… read more about Does the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Herald a New Era of Global Competition? »
DURHAM, N.C. -- Though he teased a military assault for weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin still surprised many with his decision to invade Ukraine Thursday. And his behavior in the days leading up to the invasion suggested an erratic, unpredictable leader whose next moves won’t be entirely clear, two Duke scholars said Thursday. Speaking to media in a virtual media briefing, two scholars with vast expertise on Russia and the former Soviet Union discussed the nascent war, the role of sanctions, what the U.S. will do… read more about Putin’s Invasion Of Ukraine Reveals Leader ‘Disconnected In Many Senses From Reality,’ Expert Says »
When he was an undergraduate political science student, Kerry Haynie was never taught about the 1921 Tulsa massacre. Nor was there much discussion about the role of race in the founding political documents of this country or much examination of how race influenced public services such as sewer lines and zoning. In one sense, a lot has changed. In 2021, Duke’s faculty includes a strong lineup of leading scholars who examine how race is embedded in issues that cross all the schools of the university. This fall, many of… read more about University Course Raises Race as a Central Element of Undergraduate Education »
Last year, five Duke University faculty members set out to build skills and add new dimensions to their work. In these excerpts from their Faculty Teaching/Research Enhancement Grants (FTREG) reports, they share what they undertook and how these experiences will help them and their students. Improvisation Jody McAuliffe, Theater Studies and Slavic & Eurasian Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences I took the Summer Intensive in improvisation offered at the iO Theater in Chicago. Widely considered the premier… read more about Five Scholars Find Creative Ways to Strengthen Their Research and Teaching »
We invite students – those majoring in our department as well as non-majors looking for interesting courses – to explore our offerings for Spring 2021. As always, we provide a wide variety of culture and language courses focused on Eastern Europe. Below is a sampling of our classes. Selected Spotlighted Courses Modern Jewish Identities: Between Eastern Europe and the United States – POLISH 275S Beth Holmgren Mondays/Wednesdays 3:30-4:45 p.m. Online The greatest influx of Jewish immigrants to the United States (1880-… read more about Spotlighted Spring 2021 Courses »
DURHAM, N.C. -- Eighteen Duke students and alumni have been awarded Fulbright placements to teach English, study and do research abroad during the 2020-2021 academic year. The Fulbright US Student Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, offering opportunities in over 140 countries. The Fulbright award is designed to facilitate cultural exchange and increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries. The awards are announced on a… read more about Eighteen Duke Students And Alumni Awarded Fulbright Scholarships »