Elena Penskaja
- Academic Supervisor: Faculty of Humanities / Project Laboratory for Studies of Yury Lyubimov’s Work and Director’s Theatre of XX-XXI centuries
- Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Editorial Office of the ‘Issues of Education’ Journal
- Professor: Faculty of Humanities / School of Philological Studies
- Tenured Professor (2006)
- Elena Penskaja has been at HSE University since 2002.
Education and Degrees
Lomonosov Moscow State University
According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, Candidate of Sciences belongs to ISCED level 8 - "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar. Candidate of Sciences allows its holders to reach the level of the Associate Professor.
A post-doctoral degree called Doctor of Sciences is given to reflect second advanced research qualifications or higher doctorates in ISCED 2011.
Awards and Accomplishments
Best Teacher — 2011–2013
Courses (2024/2025)
- Intermedial practices in the Culture of the 20th-21st Centuries (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 2, 3 module)Rus
- Intermedial practices in the Culture of the 20th-21st Centuries (Mago-Lego; 2, 3 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Drama language in Literary History and Theatrical Process" (Optional course (faculty); Faculty of Humanities; 1-4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Drama language in Literary History and Theatrical Process" (Optional course (faculty); Faculty of Humanities; 1-3 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Methodology of Historical and Cultural Research" (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 2, 3 module)Rus
- Russian Studies: Cultural and Intellectual Heritage (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 1, 2 module)Rus
- Past Courses
Courses (2023/2024)
- Cultural Heritage Between East and West (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 1, 2 module)Rus
- Drama Text Analysis (Optional course (faculty); 4 module)Rus
- Intermedial practices in the Culture of the 20th-21st Centuries (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 2, 3 module)Rus
- Intermedial practices in the Culture of the 20th-21st Centuries (Mago-Lego; 2, 3 module)Rus
- Postgraduate seminar (Postgraduate course; 1 year, 2 semester)Rus
- Project seminar "Principles of work with archival sources" (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Drama language in Literary History and Theatrical Process" (Optional course (faculty); 1-4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Drama language in Literary History and Theatrical Process" (Optional course (faculty); 1-3 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Methodology of Historical and Cultural Research" (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 2, 3 module)Rus
- The Philosophical Roots of European Drama (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 1, 2 module)Rus
- The Philosophical Roots of European Drama (Mago-Lego; 1, 2 module)Rus
Courses (2022/2023)
- Cultural Heritage Between East and West (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 1, 2 module)Rus
- Perfomance and Its Transformation in the History of World Theatre (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 2, 3 module)Rus
- Project Seminar "Working with Archival Sources. Official and Unofficial Culture in Eastern Europe and Russia" (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 1-4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 4 year, 1-3 module)Rus
- The Philosophical Roots of European Drama (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 1, 2 module)Rus
Courses (2021/2022)
- Cultural Heritage Between East and West (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 2, 3 module)Rus
- Perfomance and Its Transformation in the History of World Theatre (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 2, 3 module)Rus
- Project Seminar " Working with m Manuscripts and Archival Sources. Official and Unofficial Culture in Eastern Europe and Russia in the second half of the XX century" (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 3, 4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Language of Drama" (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 4 year, 1-3 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Language of Drama" (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 3 year, 1-4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Language of Drama" (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 1-4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Methodology of Historical and Cultural Research" (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 1-4 module)Rus
- The Philosophical Roots of European Drama (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 1-3 module)Rus
Courses (2020/2021)
- Central and Eastern Europe: Heritage and Cultural Transfers (Minor; Faculty of Humanities; 3, 4 module)Rus
- Cultural Heritage Between East and West (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 2, 3 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Comparative Analysis of Scientific Discourses" (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 1-4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Language of Drama" (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 4 year, 1-3 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Language of Drama" (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 3 year, 1-4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Language of Drama" (Bachelor’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 1-4 module)Rus
- Research Seminar "Methodology of Historical and Cultural Research" (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 1-4 module)Rus
- Semiotics of Cultural Transfer and Transformation of Performing Practices in the History of the World Theatre (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 2, 3 module)Rus
- The Philosophical Roots of European Drama (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 2 year, 1-3 module)Rus
- The Philosophical Roots of European Drama (Master’s programme; Faculty of Humanities; 1 year, 1-3 module)Rus
- Theater of the XX Century: Multilingualism of the Stage-producers' Creative Searches (Optional course; 3, 4 module)Rus
Editorial board membership
Conferences
- 2019
научные чтения памяти заслуженного профессора ТГУ Александра Сергеевича Янушкевича (Томск). Presentation: Не только Жуковский: Жуковский в театральных альбомах М.А.Булгакова
“Transculturality in Eastern and Western Contexts“ (Трир). Presentation: Theater und Performativität im transkulturellen Raum
- 2018
Диалог культур (горно-Алтайск). Presentation: Пространственные дубликаты в трилогии А.В.Сухово-Кобылина «Картины прошедшего»
“Русский литературный канон и периодизация русской литературы в ІІІ тысячелетии. Взгляд из Рима”, (Рим). Presentation: Прутковский канон» и история литературы
- 2017
Универсалии русской литературы (Воронеж). Presentation: Драматургия Сухово-Кобылина в историко-литературном контексте
Principle of cultural dynamics (Берлин). Presentation: Causality or Contingency: What Keeps Culture Going?
- 2015
XIII конгресс МАПРЯЛ "Русский язык и литература в пространстве мировой культуры" (Гранада). Presentation: «Русский Диккенс» в историко-литературном контексте 1900-1940-х.
XVIII Фулбрайтовская гуманитарная летняя школа (Москва). Presentation: Национальная политика как фактор «изобретения» литературной традиции и формирования стратегии гуманитарного образования
Филология и межкультурный трансфер в Европе (от античности до начала XXI века) (Варшава). Presentation: Польские интеллектуалы и их участие в русской журналистике 1860-х.
Седьмые Лотмановские дни в Таллиннском университете. СЕМИОТИКА ВЛАСТИ: НАСИЛИЕ И АВТОНОМНОСТЬ. (Таллин). Presentation: Рождение комедии из духа юриспруденции: Министр юстиции В.Н. Панин как «фигурант» литературного суда
Imperial Romanticism – Romanticism of the Empire (Казбеги). Presentation: The Category of Romantic Adventure in Soviet Pre-War Art
Всероссийская научная конференция «Литература и театр» (Москва). Presentation: Семья Сухово-Кобылиных. Типология трактовок в художественном и публицистическом пространстве 19-20 вв.
Поверх барьеров: Филология XXI века. Presentation: ”Интрига драматическая и интрига академическая“ в дискуссиях практиков и теоретиков театральной культуры 1920–1930-х годов
Лекция приглашенного профессора (Берлин). Presentation: "Историческая память" и ее отражение в русской/советской поэзии 1900-1940-х
- 2014
ШЕСТЫЕ ЛОТМАНОВСКИЕ ДНИ В ТАЛЛИННСКОМ УНИВЕРСИТЕТЕ (Таллинн). Presentation: «Личное дело» М.М. Филиппова. Биография на перекрестье художественного, уголовного, политического контекстов (по материал ГАРФ и РГАЛИ)
«Письма и дневники в русском литературном наследии ХХ века. Вопросы текстологии, источниковедения и интерпретации» (Москва). Presentation: Отклики Б.М.Эйхенбаума и упоминания о нем в архиве Д.Е.Максимова (рукописный отдел РНБ). К истории лермонтоведения
Маргиналии – 2014: границы культуры и текста (Елец). Presentation: Немцы отчасти идиоты, но человечнее французов»: к структуре эпистолярного романа Евгении Тур и Аполлинарии Сусловой 1860-1880-х годов
Arctic Modernities (Тромсе). Presentation: The everyday Arctic in Russian prose and art 1950-1980 (the case of Boris Gorbatov)
200-летие со дня рождения М.Ю.Лермонтова (Москва). Presentation: Д.Е.Максимов в переписке с А.И.Журавлевой. Документы к истории лермонтоведения второй половины XX века
IV Полетаевские чтения «Академическая экспертиза: как устроена саморегуляция научного сообщества?». Presentation: Принципы "новой" гуманитарной экспертизы
«И.С. Тургенев. Проблемы изучения. Коды и мифологемы». Presentation: Эпиграфика романа «Стрельцы» Константина Масальского и поэтика романа «Отцы и дети» И.С. Тургенева
Анциферовские чтения. Presentation: «Две столицы в трилогии Сухово-Кобылина “Картины прошедшего”. “Смертельный спор” городов в интерпретациях критики и постановщиков»
САМИЗДАТ: ЭПОХИ, ТЕКСТЫ, СУДЬБЫ. (Москва). Presentation: «Самиздат в личном архиве Всеволода Николаевича Некрасова»
- 2013
Художественный мир Всеволода Некрасова (Москва). Presentation: К становлению некрасовской формулы «провокация контекстов»
"Феномен заглавия" (Москва). Presentation: Эпиграф и текст в трилогии Сухово-Кобылина
Сапгировские чтения (Москва). Presentation: Вс.Некрасов и Генрих Сапгир
Indagini e prospettive su Giambatista Vico nel terzo millennio – Джамбаттиста Вико: на пороге III тысячелетия (Москва). Presentation: Философия истории Джамбатисты Вико в русской публицистике второй половины XIX в.: Валериан Майков, Михаил Стасюлевич, Петр Кудрявцев, Евгений Феоктистов
100 лет Русского формализма (Москва). Presentation: О Мейерхольде и воинствующем формализме (письмо в редакцию)" в контексте антиформалистской кампании 1930-х годов
Archives of the Arctic. Ice, Entropy and Memory International Conference held in Berlin (Берлин). Presentation: The Arctic in Russian literature from the 1930ies to 1950ies (Pil’njak, Platonov, Vaginov, Lagin, Kaverin)
К 140-летию со дня рождения В.Д.Бонч-Бруевича (1873-1955). Вторые Анциферовские чтения. Presentation: Бонч-Бруевич и его участие в создании «легенды» А.В.Сухово-Кобылина (к вопросу о полемике двух Гроссманов)
Sorbonne-IV, Centre de Recherches sur les cultures et littératures d’Europe centrale, orientale et balkanique.UFR d’Etudes slaves. «La culture du divertissement.à l’époque de l’Age d’argent (1908-1918)». Presentation: Farce et/ou chronique criminelle. A propos d la genèse de l’extravagance théâtrale dans la culture russe (1900-1910)
Четырнадцатые Филологические чтения. «СТАТУС ПОГРАНИЧНОЙ ЗОНЫ В ЛИТЕРАТУРЕ И КУЛЬТУРЕ». Presentation: «Лопнули все границы». Драматическая трилогия Сухово-Кобылина на перекрестье жанров и политических коллизий 1850-1860-х годов
Универсалии русской литературы (Воронеж). Presentation: Генезис одной речевой универсалии в драматической трилогии Сухово-Кобылина и за ее пределами
- 2012
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS "CULTURAL POLYGLOTISM" (Тарту). Presentation: Язык историка и администратора в "Заметках из слышанного и виденного" Е.М. Феоктистова
Supervisor of the following Doctoral theses
- 1A. Lukashkin The reception of the Ponson du Terrail's novels about Rocambole in Russian culture in the second half of the 19th century and in the early 20th century, 2020
- 2N. Sarana The tradition of the English Bildungsroman in Russian prose of 1840-1860s, 2018
- 3Poetic theater repertoire in the 1920s-1930s in Europe and Russia
- 4Semiotics of Polish text in postdramatic theatre from the 1990s to the 2020s. A Feminist Aspect.
- 5Transformation of dramatic literature in the cross-cultural context of Chinese and Russian cultural practices in the 1930s-1950s
Research projects
- Russian and English-language intellectual media in 1990-2000s (together with Woodrow Willson Center) (2003 –2004)
- Expert journalism in Russia and the USA in 1990-2000s (2008-2009)
- The Russian historical novel of the 19th century. Forgotten names. From archive sources.
Professional interests
The history of Russian and West European literature
The history of Russian and West European theatre
Russian and European intellectual journalism
Selected research papers
E. N. Penskaja. Non-fiction as a semiotic key for Russian classical literature (1860-1880) Nanjing International Symposium on Cultural Semiotics and the Eighth Annual Conference of China Association for Linguistic and Semiotic Studies 15-17 November, 2008 Nanjing Normal University, P. R. China. “Non-fiction as a semiotic key for Russian classical literature".
The Fine Art Literary Mayhem. Congress of Semiotic. Helsinki-Imatra. 11-17 June/2007. “THE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS” AS METAPHOR FOR ASYMMETRY IN RELATIONS BETWEEN THINK-TANKS AND THE RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES .Form and Symmetry: Art and Science Buenos Aires Congress, October. 2007
July 2006. Russian and American mass-media. Columbia journalist School, Columbia University (NY), Columbia Journalist Review (CJR)
Digitized Archives Are a Great Treasure
Digital archives and electronic versions of manuscripts are essential to the work of modern-day philologists, linguists, and literary scholars. The possibilities that digitization opens up to researchers were the focus of the second international conference of early career researchers of Russian literature. The conference had the theme of ‘Text as DATA: The Manuscript in the Digital Space’ and was hosted by the HSE Faculty of Humanities.
‘Organising a Double Defence on Zoom Is a Real Challenge’
Alexey Lukashkin, a graduate of a cotutelle doctoral programme in philology arranged by HSE University and the Sorbonne, defended his doctoral thesis before the HSE University Dissertation Council in Philology and Linguistics. Along with a Russian Candidate of Sciences degree in Philology, he received a PhD. The HSE News Service spoke with Alexey about his studies and research.
‘Projects Will Bring Research Teams Together’
A number of new projects will form the basis of the educational and scholarly activity at HSE’s School of Philology. These projects will allow the School to expand its scholarly breadth, consolidate its active research teams, and engage new colleagues in collaboration. HSE News Service spoke with School Head Evgeny Kazartsev about the new projects, their anticipated outcomes, and what changes will need to be made in order to bring them to fruition.
HSE Student Conference Evaluates ‘The Manuscripts in Digital Space’
Students of HSE University (based at its Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod campuses), Moscow State University, Russian State University for the Humanities, and representatives of the Russian Academy of Science (RAS) Institutes, Novosibirsk Pedagogical University, and HSE Saint Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod campuses participated in the online conference, ‘Text as DATA: The Manuscript in Digital Space’, which was organized by the School of General and Applied Philology of the Faculty of Humanities.
HSE University Joins Digital Archive Project of Silver Age Literature
Autograph is a digital archive that grants researchers access to digitized manuscripts of Russian writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Until now, the manuscripts were only available in archives that are closed to researchers and the public and located in different cities and countries around the world.
IGITI researchers' articles in a new edited volume
Articles by IGITI Research Fellows Julia Ivanova and Pavel Sokolov were published in multi-authored monograph "History and Drama. The Pan-European Tradition", edited by Joachim Küpper, Jan Mosch, and Elena Penskaya. The monograph was published by De Gruyter and is available online.
Mandelstam Centre: 2016 Results
2016 marked 125 years since the birth of Osip Mandelstam. Pavel Polian (Nerler), Director of the Mandelstam Centre, summarized the results of its years’ work
HSE School of Philology Attends Conference in Cologne
On October 7-11 the international conference ‘Reviving Visions: Artists and Scholars that Connected East and West’ marking the launch of a joint MA programme between HSE, the University of Cologne and the University of Warsaw, was held in Cologne. Students and staff from the HSE School of Philology took part in the event.
From HSE to the Sorbonne and Back
Alexey Lukashin, graduate of the HSE master’s programme ‘Comparative Studies: Russian Literature in Cross-cultural Perspective’, studies how real people often copy literary characters and how they themselves can become unusual characters. He is now writing a thesis on this at the Sorbonne and plans to go for his doctorate at HSE.
HSE Partners with International Project in Humanities
The Higher School of Economics is the first Russian university to become an associate member of a key project run by the Dahlem Humanities Center at the Free University of Berlin – ‘The Thematic Network Principles of Cultural Dynamics’. The project is aimed at strengthening international cooperation in the humanities.
‘I Always Dreamed about Studying at Cambridge’
Natalia Sarana, doctoral student of the School of Philology, told us about her internship at the University of Cambridge.
HSE Expanding International Cooperation in the Humanities
In 2016, the Higher School of Economics will be the first Russian university to become an associate member of a large project being carried out by the Freie Universität Berlin’s Dahlem Humanities Center. The project, entitled the Thematic Network Principles of Cultural Dynamics, aims to strengthen international cooperation in humanities research. Its objective is to study the factors that affect the cultural processes in the history of humanity’s development.
The HSE’s French Anniversary
December 5-6, 2013 HSE held an international conference “Diderot, Encyclopaedia, Enlightenment”, which was organised jointly by the Philosophy, History and Philology faculties. Russian academics and French researchers from the universities of Caen, Reims, Paris Ouest and Paris Sorbonne all took part in the forum.
‘Dostoyevsky’s 'Krotkaya' is itself a Research Experiment’
Professor Georg Witte talked to Ludmila Mezentseva of the HSE news service about his research and about plans for the Free University of Berlin and the HSE Department of Philology to work together