Visiting Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures Stephanie Sandler will join the Faculty as a professor of Russian Studies, effective next spring.
Sandler was offered the position in 1998 and accepted last week.
Named Professor of Russian and Women's and Gender Studies at Amherst College in 1995, Sandler teaches a Slavic department seminar called "Poetic Self-Creation in Twentieth-Century Russia."
"Harvard has been a wonderful place for me to teach as a visitor, and I already have come to value my new colleagues and I've begun to appreciate how much the University offers in its libraries and other resources," Sandler wrote in an e-mail message.
Sandler's colleagues and students gave nearly universal praise for her selection.
"Professor Sandler is a remarkably gifted teacher who enriches the experience of Russian literature with a judicious application of various modern theoretical approaches," wrote Potebnja Professor of Ukrainian Philology and department chair Michael S. Flier in an e-mail message.
Several graduate students in the Slavic department lauded Sandler's unique dynamism as an instructor.
"She's an expert at conveying her enthusiasm in the classroom," said Ian M. Chesley, "and she's dedicated to creating an atmosphere of open and creative intellectual exchange."
Melissa S. Feuerstein, a current graduate student in the Slavic department, studied under Sandler as an undergraduate at Amherst.
"Stephanie Sandler has been the most important, inspiring and influential figure in my academic life," she said. "It is through her that I found Russian literature. One of the many things I learned from her is that academic rigor can and should be combined with creative thinking and intellectual risk taking."
Sandler's impact on her students has also extended outside of the classroom.
"Stephanie is incredibly generous--with her knowledge, her support, her enthusiasm and her dedication," Feuerstein said. "She is as wonderful in the classroom as she is in individual conversations."
According to Cross Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures John E. Malmstad, Sandler's addition to the Faculty will broaden the scope of the department's expertise.
"Sandler is a wonderful authority on Russian verse with a special interest in contemporary verse," he said. "She will also bring her interest and expertise in women's studies to our Slavic offerings."
A specialist in the study of 19th and 20th-century Russian poetry, Sandler published her first book, Distant Pleasures: Alexander Pushkin and the Writing of Exile in 1989.
Read more in News
Technology Brings Stanford RenownRecommended Articles
-
'Range and Strength' Offered by Summer Russian CoursesA Russian and Slavic Studies program of "extraordinary range and strength" will highlight this year's Summer School offerings, Thomas E.
-
Slavic Dept. Considers New Course in RussianThe Slavic Department may offer a non-intensive course in beginning Russian next year, according to Albert B. Lord '34, chairman
-
Registration for Russian Courses Sets New Record With Over 200Enrollment in Russian courses rose sharply this year with more than 200 students taking courses offered by the Department of
-
High Schools Consider Starting Instruction in Russian LanguagePublic high schools have begun to show an interest in teaching Russian language courses, Albert B. Lord '34,chairman of the
-
Students Flock to Slavic Aab; Course Enrollment DoublesEnrollment in the College's elementary course in Russian has jumped to about 80 as compared to last year's figure of
-
Slavic Studies Head Responds to ComplaintsThe chairman of the Slavic Languages and Literature Department met for the first time with undergraduate concentrators this week in