On the threshold of Eurasia: Intersecting Discourses of Empire and Identity in the Literature of the Russian Empire

Leah Feldman
Comparative Literature
UC Los Angeles

This project focuses on literature of Russia and the Russian empire, particularly Muslim writers of the Caucasus. It also investigates the discourses of secularism and modernity in shaping intersecting narratives of identity. More broadly, her work explores the theoretical confluence of semiotics, postcolonial theory and Orientalism.

As a Fulbright scholar, she conducted extensive research in the Caucasus on Azerbaijani literature. She is co-translating a forthcoming compilation of nineteenth and twentieth century Azeri plays. Her future research interests include Russophone literature and satirical journals and theatre in Russia and the Caucasus from 1850-1930.