Diversity and Decolonization in Teaching Russian Studies

"This project could not be more timely. Indeed, there is no future for Russian Studies and Slavic Studies worthy of the name without precisely the sort of radical dismantling and overwriting of past russocentric practices which this project pursues with such dedication. Co-editors Garza and Stauffer, along with their contributors, approach their task with missionary zeal.The volume offers a wealth of ideas, implementable strategies and resources for those who teach language, literature, history, current events and popular culture. I especially appreciated the attention paid to inclusive language, which will most benefit our LGBTQ+ and disabled students. In our post-George Floyd, post-February 2022, post-DEI backlash era, we need this book."
—José Alaniz, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

This edited volume is the first to address diversity and decolonization in teaching Russian language, literature, and culture. For multicultural scholars and classrooms in both K-12 and higher education, the editors aim to expand representations of Russian speaker identities and Russian-speaking communities outside of Russia, as well as the culturally- and linguistically- diverse identities of students and scholars specializing in Russian within the US. Contributions provide concrete examples and philosophical approaches to present alternative ways to transform content and instruction in Russian Studies.

Thomas Jesús Garza is University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies and Director of Texas Language Center at University of Texas at Austin, USA.

Rachel Stauffer is Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian at Virginia Tech, USA.