Northwestern co-hosts "Evil in Russian Thought and Literature" conference at Cambridge, July 2025
April 22, 2025
To register for the conference, please visit here.
Recent News
Nowruz Celebration: Persian and Central Asian New Year Celebration
April 16, 2025
On Friday, April 11, the Slavic Department hosted a joyful celebration of Nowruz, the Persian and Central Asian New Year. The event was co-organized by Professor McReynolds, Chair of the Slavic Department, and Bita Takrimi, a PhD student in Slavic Languages and Literatures, with co-sponsorship from Middle East and North African Studies (MENA) and the South Asia Research Forum (SARF).
The event aimed to introduce the cultural and historical significance of Nowruz and showcase how it is celebrated. Guests enjoyed a vibrant program featuring live music and dance performances from Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, traditional Persian food, and activities such as egg painting, one of the cherished customs of the Nowruz. A beautifully arranged Haft-Seen table welcomed attendees, symbolizing hopes for prosperity, renewal, and joy in the new year. The celebration brought together students, faculty, and community members to honor cultural diversity and build cross-cultural connections through music, food, and shared tradition.
Slavic 328 explores authentic Czech cuisine
February 6, 2025
Slavic 328 (City of Cultures, City of Conflict: Prague) exploring authentic Czech cuisine with Prof. Kerlova on the outskirts of Chicago in late January 2024. The evening in Café Prague was hosted by our Slavic alum, Rob Fojtik, the Vice President of Neighborhood Strategy at Choose Chicago, uplifted by the presence of our very recent Slavic alumna, Sydney Matrisciano, currently in her last semester at NU Law School, and facing her double-bar exams in February! She will then start practicing for DLA Piper.
New Journal Launched
January 13, 2025
Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the full editorial team, I am pleased to present the inaugural issue of Northwestern University Studies in Russian Philosophy, Literature and Religious Thought, the annual online, open-access journal of the Northwestern University Research Initiative in Russian Philosophy, Literature, and Religious Thought. Published by Northwestern University Libraries as an important digital humanities initiative, the journal will be distributed electronically to research libraries around the world. The journal is posted to our main website "Journal" tab here and has its own dedicated webpage.
The journal's publication is another significant milestone for the NU RPLRT Research Initiative. We have already begun work on the second volume (2025), which will feature articles first presented at our November 2024 conference co-sponsored by the Hamilton Center at the University of Florida: Religion, Human Dignity, and Human Rights: New Paradigms for Russia and the West. We hope that the third volume (2026) will feature articles from our summer 2025 conference at the University of Cambridge, Evil in Russian Thought and Literature.
We welcome submissions for research articles, critical and interpretive essays, reviews, and translations. Please send submissions to Susan McReynolds and Randall Poole.
Best wishes,
Brad Underwood
Associate Editor