Laura Engelstein
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Laura Engelstein is an American historian who specializes in Russian and
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history. She serves as Henry S. McNeil Professor Emerita of Russian History at
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
and taught at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
and
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
. Her numerous publications have included ''Moscow, 1905: Working-Class Organization and Political Conflict'' (1982); ''The Keys to Happiness: Sex and the Search for Modernity in Fin-de-Siecle Russia'' (1992); ''Castration and the Heavenly Kingdom: A Russian Folktale'' (1999); ''Slavophile Empire: Imperial Russia’s Illiberal Path'' (2009); and ''Russia in Flames: War, Revolution, Civil War, 1914–1921'' (2017). In 2000, she co-edited an essay collection with Stephanie Sandler, ''Self and Story in Russian History.'' A translation with Grazyna Drabik of Andrzej Bobkowski's ''Wartime Notebooks: France, 1940–1944'', was released in November 2018. Her research interests lie in the "social and cultural history of late imperial Russia, with attention to the role of law, medicine, and the arts in public life," as well as "themes in the history of gender, sexuality, and religion." Shortly before fall 2014, Engelstein retired from her work as a professor at
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
.


Education

Engelstein studied in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
from 1973 to 1974, completing a stazhirovka. She earned her
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
from
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in 1976 under Terence Emmons.


Teaching career and publications

Following graduation, she accepted a position at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, the second woman to be hired by the History Department there. While teaching at Cornell, Engelstein completed her first book, which "analyzed patterns of working-class behavior in the course of the revolution of 1905 in Moscow." ''Moscow, 1905: Working-Class Organization and Political Conflict'' was published in 1982. Engelstein became a professor at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
in 1985. The same year, she began completing the research for her second book, ''The Keys to Happiness: Sex and the Search for Modernity in Fin-de-Siecle Russia,'' which was published in 1992. On November 3, 2001, Engelstein accepted an offer to join the history faculty at
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, where she served as Henry S. McNeil Professor Emerita of Russian History.


Honors and awards

Engelstein's second book won the Wayne S. Vucinich Prize and shared the Heldt Prize. Engelstein has received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation,
the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Wash ...
, the
National Humanities Center The National Humanities Center (NHC) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any university or federal agency. The center was planned under the auspi ...
, and the
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at the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
. In 2010, she was named a Metro Berlin Prize Fellow by the American Academy in Berlin. '' Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History'' described Engelstein as one of "the most important figures in the field of Russian history" with an "incisive mind" and "analytical acuity," adding that she had "played a crucial role in enhancing our understanding of the complex interplay of social, cultural, intellectual, and political forces in the late imperial period."


Retirement

Shortly before fall 2014, Engelstein retired from her position at
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Engelstein, Laura Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Yale University faculty American women historians Historians of Russia Stanford University alumni Cornell University Department of History faculty Princeton University faculty Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy 21st-century American women