From Russian Studies to Donkey Rescue: Survival in Times of Extinction

Please join us on March 19 at 4pm in Rubenstein 349 for the Lecture entitled “From Russian Studies to Donkey Rescue: Survival in Times of Extinction” to be presented by Dr. Robin Bisha.

During this presentation, Dr. Bisha will explore how her career path in one of the premier Russian Studies programs in the United States formed how she responded to momentous shifts in global political and cultural history of the last three decades. Navigating the ups and downs of the field of Russian Studies, Bisha followed a creative career path that wove in and out of contact with Russian culture and prompted deep investigation of values--both her own personal values and those expressed in contemporary Russian society, politics, and culture. Her strong commitment to relationships with companion animals also affected her career choices and ultimately became part of her teaching practice and research. Although Bisha no longer focuses on Russia, the animals of Eurasia continue to gallop through her work. Join her as she shares captivating tales of Sasha, Lara, and Marfa—the donkeys who accompany her through each day.

Robin Bisha, Ph.D., is on sabbatical from her position as Professor of Communication at Texas Lutheran University to research communication between humans and non-humans as a component of interspecies spirituality. She began her academic career with graduate work in Russian Studies at Indiana University and taught at Kalamazoo College and the University of Texas at El Paso before redirecting her academic work toward mass communication at University of North Carolina. Bisha lives at Cheshire’s Legacy sanctuary farm in Kingsbury, Texas, with three donkeys, a mule, a miniature horse, a dozen cats, birds, opossums, raccoons, armadillos, transient deer, an occasional coyote, seasonal frogs, lots of insects, and more plants than she can keep track of.