Biography
Originally from Moscow, Russia, Diana Stanislavovna Avdeeva is pursuing an MA in Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds a B.A. in Linguistics and Teaching English and Italian Languages and Cultures from the Moscow State Linguistic University, a Master's degree in Russian as a Foreign Language from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, and another Master’s degree in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Arizona. Her research interests include nineteenth-century Russian literature, national identity, ethnic diversity in Russia and the global Russophone community, and modern Russian history and politics.
Diana is a seasoned instructor of Russian language and culture, both in-person and online. She favors the communicative teaching method and has taught first-year and second-year Russian language courses and a course on Russian and East European cinema; Diana has also assisted in teaching a course on Russian folklore.
Education
University of Arizona
M.A. Russian and East European Studies (2022–2024)
National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
M.A. Russian as a Foreign Language in Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Cultural Perspective (2019–2021)
Moscow State Linguistic University, Moscow, Russia
B.A. Linguistics, English and Italian (2015–2019), with distinction.
Certificate in Russian-English/English-Russian Translation (2019)
Awards and Honors
2024 Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in the Humanities & Arts, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 2024 GPSC Completion Grant, University of Arizona
2024 Alexander and Mary Tsien Dunkel Award for Russian and Slavic Studies, University of Arizona
2023 AWSS Travel Grant for ASEEES 2023 in Philadelphia, PA
2023 Jarosewycz Family Scholarship, University of Kansas
2023 Catharine Nepomnyashchy Graduate Student Travel Grant, ASEEES
2023 Graduate College Fellowship, University of Arizona
2023 Alexander and Mary Tsien Dunkel Award for Russian and Slavic Studies, University of Arizona
2023 Valentine and Evgenia Dunkel Award for Russian and Slavic Studies, University of Arizona
2022 Weinel Award, University of Arizona
2022 Graduate College Fellowship, University of Arizona
Courses Taught
Spring 2024 RSSS 212 Mythic Russia: Russian Fairy Tales and Folklore
Spring 2024 RSSS 102 Second-semester Russian
Fall 2023 STARTALK Project, University of Texas at Arlington, Lesson Designer
Fall 2023 RSSS 330 How Ukraine Was Tempered: Culture, Politics, and Identity
Fall 2023 RSSS 101 First-semester Russian
Spring 2023 RSSS 315 Werewolves and Vampires in Slavic Folklore
Spring 2023 RSSS 102 Second-semester Russian (asynchronous)
Spring 2023 RSSS 102 Second-semester Russian
Fall 2022 RSSS 315 Werewolves and Vampires in Slavic Folklore
Fall 2022 RSSS 201 Third-semester Russian
Summer 2022 RSSS 105 Russian and East European Cinema
Spring 2022 RSSS 315 Werewolves and Vampires in Slavic Folklore
Spring 2022 RSSS 202 Forth-semester Russian
External Links
Recent Publications
Oct. 2024 “Sister Cities” by Ekaterina Ulitina, ROAR (Resistance and Opposition Arts Review)
Sept. 2024. “I Feel as if We’ve Won a Million in the Lottery,” Helpdesk Media in English
Aug. 2024 “Not Every Day, but I Manage to Do Good,” Helpdesk Media in English
Feb. 2024 “Oyster Anatomy” by Roman Leibov, ROAR (Resistance and Opposition Arts Review)
Nov. 2023 “Cannibals” by Polina Barskova, ROAR (Resistance and Opposition Arts Review)
Nov. 2023 “Uneasily along the main hall floors” by Maria Mosievich, ROAR (Resistance and Opposition
Arts Review)
Aug. 2023 “Is it the weight of life…” by Maria Sher, ROAR (Resistance and Opposition Arts Review)
Aug. 2023 “KULICH” by Yulia Nemirovskaya, ROAR (Resistance and Opposition Arts Review)