Russian Studies: Elena Rodina, Northwestern University
“Creative Resistance Practices in Subnational Russian Media: Contemporary Journalistic Cultures in Chechnya and Dagestan”
Elena Rodina is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Media, Technology, and Society at Northwestern University. She obtained her Master’s degree in Slavic Studies from the University of Oregon and received her BA in Romanic-Germanic philology at Kazan State University. Elena worked as a print journalist in Russia for over eight years, including being a full-time special correspondent for Esquire (Russia) and Ogoniok. She covered a diverse range of social and political topics, such as the consequences of the Beslan school hostage crisis, political change in post-Castro Cuba, interethnic marriage and ethnic conflict in the Far East, and more. At Northwestern, she has developed and taught a junior writing seminar on political and social aspects of mass media, which covers such questions as journalistic freedom, societal norms, historical, and cultural factors that affect journalistic production globally. She is currently doing research on journalistic practices and media culture in Russia, focusing on the region of the North Caucasus.
