1.5.2026 Published a review on the new Yakutian film Cuckoo (Kukusha, 2024) in the critical film journal KinoKultura (Issue 91, 2006). Read it here:
2.21.2025 Discussed the theme of “technofeudalism” during a panel I put together for the 2025 AATSEEL conference–“Medieval Imaginaries and Technofeudal Futures.” I presented a paper on Viktor Pelevin’s speculative novel, Transhumanism, Inc., in connection to Yanis Veroufakis’s thesis of technofeudalism.
2.5.2025 I had an excellent time at the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA) conference held this year in San Francisco, as one of their program fellows. The conference organizers truly took great care of us fellows. What a privilege it was to meet such a talented cohort of experimental psychologists, clinicians, psychiatrists, and academic researchers, to see presentations, and witness the new publication of Freud’s Standard Edition.
11.30.2024 Attended and presented at the ASEEES conference held this year in Boston. I presented at two sessions: on the narrative motif of “magic doors” in a cult 90s post-collapse film called Window to Paris and a roundtable on the Soviet philosopher Evald Ilyenkov, for his 100-yr. anniversary.
7.8.2024 Recently received a Global Seal of Biliteracy from the USC Center for Languages and Cultures. This is given after passing a three-hour proctored exam on reading, listening, speaking, and writing. I’m a heritage speaker of Russian, which comes with specific needs as a language learner, so I found this helpful for keeping my language skills sharp.
6.1.2024 Very happy to announce my acceptance to the fellowship program with the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA) for this next year. It is a great honor to receive this opportunity as an academic researcher and scholar.
4.3.2024 Recently accepted a 2-year position as a Dornsife Fellow in General Education at the University of Southern California. Excited to design my own courses and share material I’m passionate about for the GESM program at USC. This will also provide time to publish my book on the history of psychoanalysis in the Soviet Union.
12.15.2023 Submitted an article recently for publication, on a unique and understudied novel from the 1920s. You can read a draft here.
9.12.2023 My dissertation was delivered in hardcover and softcover. Very proud of this thing, which was a labor of intellectual love, to say the least!
9.1.2023 Honored to be accepted to the ASEEES one-year mentoring program in Slavic Studies for the 2023-24 year with Dr. Elizabeth Bishop. Deeply grateful for the support that the Slavic field provides.
8.7.2023 Passed my dissertation defense!
7.28.2023 Participated in a workshop on critical phenomenology (“The Struggle for Attention in the Public Sphere: A Perspective of Critical Phenomenology”) at the University of Dresden, Germany. The contemporary phenomenologist Bernhard Waldenfels presented and attended. An excellent time meeting other scholars, artists, and activists, exploring Dresden, and expanding my conceptual toolbox.
5.1.2023 New book review published on Russian Formalism in the Slavic and East European Journal (SEEJ):
4.21.2023 OSSEES organized a successful film screening and lecture by Soviet film-scholar Lilya Kaganovsky from UCLA. Here is the flyer designed for it:
3.17.2023 Had a productive time in Chicago at the ACLA conference, where I presented a paper on psychoanalysis and Russian Formalism. I also organized the ACLA Panel “Modernist Extra-Cinematic Montage” (co-organized with Jayson Lantz), and had a great group of presenters this year.
https://www.acla.org/modernist-extra-cinematic-montage
4.1.2022 Here are designs for the Ukraine humanitarian aid fundraiser done with Joti Makaspak. These were printed on items for sale.
3.15.2022 Interview for Dornsife Magazine (2022) on fundraising for Ukraine:
3.15.2022 Graphic design, formatting, and editing work for the California Slavic Colloquium (2022):
3.15.2022 My short article on proper names was posted to the NYU Jordan Center blog (2022):
https://jordanrussiacenter.org/news/all-or-nothing-the-literary-significance-of-proper-names
1.15.2022 Webpage for the Organization of Students of Slavic and East European Studies (OSSEES):
Nikita Allgire 