Undergraduate Research
The ECU Russian Studies faculty dedication to research is also an inspiration for our undergraduates. As teachers, researchers and mentors we are encouraging our students to apply for the competitive undergraduate research scholarships from their freshmen year. Closely mentored by Russian Studies professors Dr. Elena Murenina (FLL), Dr. Justin Wilmes (FLL), Dr. Rick Ericson (Economics) and Dr. Rick Hernandez (History), our Russian Studies majors and minors have been very successful in receiving numerous Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Awards (URCA). Such URCA funding helped our students not only present their research projects at ECU RCAW and UNC-system undergraduate symposiums, but also afford their out-of-state archive, museum, library and conference travel to the prestigious national undergraduate research venues in Russian, Slavic and Eurasian studies.
In April 2019, we were able to organize The 1st Russian Studies Undergraduate Research Symposium, and we are planning to run this event with our students bi-annually. Despite pandemic, just recently, in April 2021, we had The 2nd Russian Studies Undergraduate Research Symposium, in the online format via WebEx.
RUssian Studies Research Undergrad Symposium
The interdisciplinary program in Russian Studies, Departments of Foreign Languages & Literatures, Economics, Political Sciences, and the Thomas Harriot College of Arts & Sciences
Tuesday | 4-16-2019 | 2409 Joyner | 5:00-7:00pm
Interdisciplinary research presentations:
- Chekhov & Shakespeare on the Modern Stage: Two Plays in One Show, Katie Collins
- Linking Tsiokovsky’s Rocket Science to Humanities, Chase Neese
- Vertov’s Man with the Movie Camera (1929): A Formula for Modern Filmmakers, Grayce Mosier
- The Impact the of Contemporary Russian Hybrid Warfare Initiative on the U.S. and its Allies, Jason Port
- Christian Symbolism and Imagery in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment (1866), Brian Austin Thaxton
- U.S. Russian Foreign Relations: Strategic Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Agreements, Christa Gordon
- “Reading” Fashion in A. Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin: ‘Word’ as ‘Image’ in 1820s Imperial Russia, Elizabeth LaFave
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Elena Murenina, Dr. Justin Wilmes, Dr. Richard Ericson
For more info: Dr. Elena Murenina at mureninae@ecu.edu
2nd RUssian Studies Research Undergrad Symposium
The interdisciplinary program in Russian Studies, Departments of Foreign Languages & Literatures, History, Political Sciences, and the Thomas Harriot College of Arts & Sciences
Monday | 4-26-2021 | WebEx | 4:00-5:20pm
Interdisciplinary research presentations:
- Sky Chernauskas, “A Gender Analysis of the Historiographies of Catherine the Great”
- MaKenna Johnston, “City as A Space: Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment”
- Tysen Stephenson, “The Russian Vor and Stalin’s Gulag: Breeding Generational Russian Organized Crime Groups”
- Jared Egan, “Mechanisms of Putin’s Power: Memory Politics and Re-Sovietization”
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Elena Murenina, Dr. Justin Wilmes, Dr. Richard Hernandez
Join us for virtual symposium via WebEx
For more info: Dr. Elena Murenina at mureninae@ecu.edu
REDE: Student Impact: Student Profile
As ECU division of Research, Economic Development and Engagement (REDE) states, undergraduate research empowers students to contribute knowledge, innovation and promote intellectual independence and critical thinking skills that 90 percent of employers favor in new hires.
One of the Students Profiles featured at REDE website is Chase Neese, a Biochemistry Major and a Russian Studies Minor. His winning URCA project (2019) entitled “Linking Tsiolkovsky’s Rocket Science to Humanities” (mentored by Dr. Elena Murenina), examines how one of the 19th century Russian scientists’ famous equation and vision for the future of the mankind still impacts the world today.
Project Link
Digital Humanities projects developed by our recent graduates, Spring 2021 URCA winners (mentored by Dr. Elena Murenina):
- MaKenna Johnston, City as a Space: Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”:
Through the use of ArcGIS, this digital humanities project portrays 1860s St. Petersburg as a Dostoevskian textual and historic space. - Masha Tallant, Folktales Across Cultures:
This cross-disciplinary website brings to life Russian folktales through texts, books illustrations, animated/film adaptations, and fine arts performances.