Skip to main content

Katherine A. New, MA (Oxon) MSt (Oxon) DPhil (Oxon)

Stipendiary Lecturer in Russian at Oriel College.

Research

My research interests are focused on 18th- 21st century Russian drama and theatre. My recent publications include articles on Chekhov's theatrical space, Katenin's political theatre and the ecofeminist agenda of modern Russian women playwrights.  I have also published more broadly on Russian drama (from Ostrovsky to Sadur), poetry (from Pushkin to Mayakovsky and Khodasevich); gender studies in modern Russian culture; the reception of ancient drama in Russian literature; narratological and intertextual studies.

My current research is based on a broadly comparative study of 19th and 20th-century Russian drama as a creative system, entering into a dialogical relationship with European literary traditions. My research has an interdisciplinary perspective since it combines the study of drama as a literary genre and as performative art (including stagecraft, music and choreography), demonstrating that Russian drama brings about a powerful creative revolution and the renewal of aesthetic and cultural paradigms of European literature and theatre. In recent years I have worked on a narratological and intertextual project on Russian mythological plays of the 19th and 20th centuries, which I studied in the context of Slavic cultures, European thought and Classical literary and visual traditions.

My other research interests include studies of social and ethnic Slavic cultures; mythology and folklore; philosophical and religious thought (I have written on Classical and modern European philosophy, giving special attention to the teachings of the pre-Socratics, Hylozoists and Panpsychists, as well as Nietzsche, Vyacheslav Ivanov and Vladimir Solovyov); translation studies, both theoretical and practical (I have published on the theory of diachronic, interlingual, transcultural translation); environmental humanities.

Teaching

I have been involved in teaching and student support at Oxford University since 2017. I have held research and teaching positions, including a Stipendiary Lectureship at Oriel College (2021-2023), a Non-stipendiary Lectureship at University College (Michaelmas 2022), a Graduate Teaching Assistantship at New College (2019-2023) and a Research Assistantship at St Edmund Hall for the CatCor project (2020-21). 

I teach Russian language and literature at both college and faculty levels. I have experience teaching and providing revision sessions for the following papers: 

  • Prelim Paper I (Translation into Russian);
  • Prelim Paper II (Translation from Russian);
  • Prelim Paper III (Russian Poetry);
  • Prelim Paper IV (Russian Prose Fiction).
  • FHS Paper I (Translation into Russian);
  • FHS Paper II (Translation from Russian); 
  • FHS Paper VIII (Period of literature, 1820 to present);
  • FHS Paper X (Modern Prescribed Authors: Bulgakov, Gogol, Pushkin); 
  • FHS Paper XI (Modern Prescribed Authors: Chekhov);
  • FHS Paper XII (Special Subject: Drama);
  • FHS Russian Discourse practice sessions.

I have also taken several visiting students for courses on 19th-20th century Russian culture, Russian prose (Tolstoy and Chekhov), Russian gender studies.

I have given lecture courses on Russian Drama from its beginnings to the 21st century, on Russian Symbolism, on Nikolai Gogol and on Mikhail Bulgakov, with a special focus on the historical, political and cultural background of literary texts.

Selected Publications:

 

Publications in peer-reviewed academic journals:

1. New K. A., ‘Gains and Losses of the Inter-lingual Methodology in the Theory of Diachronic Translation’. Journal of Philology. Voprosy filologii, № 2 (62). Moscow: The Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Institut Yazykoznaniya RAN), 2018. Pp. 56-67.

 2. New K. A., ‘From Imitation to Refutation: The Canonisation and Decanonisation of the Metaphor of a Poetic Monument in Russian Literature’. Steps / Shagi, Vol. 4, № 3-4. Moscow: The Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, 2018. Pp. 247-274.

3. New K. A., ‘Docta Puella in Roman Culture’. Philology: International Scholarly Journal. Vol. 18, № 6. Volgograd: Izdatelstvo Nauchnoe Obozrenie, 2018. Pp. 61-67.  

4. New K. A., ‘Roman comedy on the Russian stage: Alexander N. Ostrovsky’s There was not a Penny, but suddenly Altyn and Plautus’ Aulularia’. Studia Litterarum, Vol. 4, №1. Moscow: Institute for World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMLI RAN), 2019. Pp. 138-159. 

5. New K. A., ‘The Rehabilitation of Masculinity in Gumilev’s Play Acteon’. The New Collection, Oxford, 2019. Pp. 24-49.

6. New K. A., ‘Nostalgic Motifs in a Historiographic Context’, Journal of Philology. Voprosy Philologii, № 2 (66). Moscow: The Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Institut Yazykoznaniya RAN) and Russian Academy of Linguistics, 2019. Pp. 186-197.

7. New K. A., ‘Deception, Illusion and Punishment in Classical Art and Russian Neoclassical Drama’. Voprosy Philologii, № 4 (68). Moscow: The Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN) and Russian Academy of Linguistics, 2019. Pp. 182-190.

8. New, K.A., ‘Italian Futurism in Russian Poetry: Vladimir Mayakovsky’s Poetic Revolution’, International Journal of Language and Linguistics, New York, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2020. Pp. 1-11.

9. New K.A., ‘Pushkin’s Mystification: Tatiana’s Letter, a Translation from French?’, The New Collection, Oxford, 2020. Pp. 39-60.

10. New, K. A., 'On Intercultural Communication in Diachronic Translation', Functional Aspects of Intercultural Communication. Translation and Interpreting Issues, vol. 7, RUDN University, Institute of Foreign Languages, Moscow, 2021. Pp. 352-359.

11. ‘From Condemnation to Revival of the Feminine: The Transmission and Reception of the Phaedra Myth in Tsvetaeva’s Drama’. In: The New Collection, Oxford, 2022, Pp.40-69.

12. New K.A., ‘The Ecofeminist Agenda of Modern Russian Drama’, Ecofeminist Drama: Environment, Gender and Theatre, Ed. A. Höing, D. Vakoch. University of Illinois Press, 2023, forthcoming.

13. New K.A., ‘Is ‘All Russia Our Garden’?  The Dualism of Environmental Space in Chekhov’s Cherry Orchard and Modern Women’s Drama’, SEEJ, 68.2, 2024.

14. New K.A., ‘Staging Politics in Pavel Katenin’s Andromache’, Russian Review, 2024, pp.1-16.

Articles in Edited Volumes:
15. New K. A., ‘On Translating Homeric Epic into Modern Languages: English and Russian’. Linguistics and Translation Studies: Collection of Scholarly Articles. Ed. I.M.Netunaeva, A.M.Polikarpov. Arkhangelsk: Northern (Arctic) Federal University, 2018. Pp. 233-244.

16. New K.A., ‘The Intertextuality of Character Representation in Ancient Historiography’. Comparative Literature Across Cultures: Bridging Boundaries Between Verbal and Visual Arts. Ed. by Konrad Gunesch. London: Interdisciplinary Discourses, 2020. Pp. 31-48.

17. ‘The Reception of Horace’s Ode 3.30 in Russian poetry’. In: In Lieu of Duration: Spatiotemporal Excursions in Literature. Ed. M. Stasiowski. London: Interdisciplinary Discourses, 2021. Pp.44-64.

18. ‘The Language of Praise in Russian 18th Century Ode’. In: Music, Poetry and Language. Ed. K. Gunesch. London: Interdisciplinary Discourses, 2021. Pp.133-47.

19. ‘The Transformation of the Cult of the Virgin Goddess in Ancient and Modern Mythology’, Beyond Identities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Gender. Ed. E. Domínguez-Rué. London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, 2021. Pp. 93-110.

Non-Academic publications:
20. New K. A., ‘An Invitation to Vindolanda’ (in Latin). Linacre Lines, University of Oxford, 2012. Pp. 20-21.

Conferences and Presentations
 

Conference Chairing

1. ‘Spolia: Real and Imagined’: chair and moderator - International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, 01.07.2019.

2. ‘Excavating and Reusing Finds from Late Antiquity’: chair and moderator - International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, 02.07.2019.

 

Conference Papers and Presentations

1. ‘Exegi monumentum’ in Russian Poetry - International Scholarly Seminar at The Meletinsky Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, 05.09.2018.

2. A lecture ‘Hypothesising the Origins of Attic Tragedy’ for Pathways at Balliol College, Oxford, 06.11.2018.
3. ‘The Statue in Classical Poetry and Russian Neoclassical Drama’ - XXVI International Lotman Conference, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, 20.12.2018.

4. ‘Etruscan Mirrors: The Hero and the Wheel’ - International Conference “Mirror: Perceptions, Deceptions and Reflections in Time”, Birkbeck, University of London, 09.03.2019.

5. ‘Immateriality in Latin Poetry: Origins and Receptions’ - International Scholarly Conference Lomonosov 2019, Moscow State University, 10.04.2019.

6. ‘The Metamorphoses of Myth in Neoclassical Drama’ - The International Association for Comparative Mythology, 13th Annual Conference Mythology of Metamorphoses: Comparative & Theoretical Perspectives, University of Tartu, 13.06.2019.

7. ‘Transforming the Perception of Mind and Body in 20th-century Russian Drama: from Dualism to Division’ - Oxford Medieval & Modern Languages Graduate Conference, Oxford University, 24.06.2019.

8. ‘Representation of Material Objects in Byzantine Mythography’ - International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, 04.07.2019.

9. ‘The Reflections of Greek Mythological Narratives in Russian Verbal and Visual Art’ - The London School of Languages and Cultures International Conference: ‘Language, Culture and Society’, Senate House, London. 07.08.2019.

10. ‘Reversing Gender Identity in Russian Neoclassical Tragedy’ - International Conference on Gender Studies, Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge. 30.11.19.

11. ‘The Relationship Between Human and Non-Human Bodies in Medieval and  Modern Russian literature’ - Gender, Science and the ‘Natural’ World, University of Swansea. 06.01.20.

12. ‘Greek Tragedy on the 19th-century Russian stage: Pavel Katenin, an innovator or a retrograde?’ - Graduate Research Seminar, Oxford. 06.02.20.
13. ‘The Reflection of the Oral Tradition in Greek and Latin Historiography’ - International Conference on Oral History, Birkbeck, University of London. 08.02.20.

14. ‘On Medieval and Modern Transformations of the Legend of the Lapithian King’, XXIV Conference ‘Translation and Transformation in the Medieval and Early Modern World’, University of Cork, 20.03.20.

15. ‘The Reception of Classical Antiquity as the Turning Point in Russian 20th Century Poetry’ - Turning Points: Interpreting the Past, Explaining the Present and Imagining the Future, International Conference, Athens, Greece, 23.05.20.

16. ‘Bridging the Worlds of the Living and the Dead in Byzantine Mythography’ - International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, 08.07.20.

17. ‘The Intertextuality of Poetic Testaments in Latin and Russian poetry’ - International Conference on “Narratives of Temporality: Continuities, Discontinuities, Ruptures”, Birkbeck, University of London. 25.07.20.

18. ‘Language as an Instrument of Propaganda in Derzhavin’s Odes’ - International Conference on “Shades of Language”, Birkbeck, University of London, 8.08.20.

19. ‘The Reception of the Trojan Myth in Pavel Katenin’s Andromache’ - ‘The Reception of Antiquity’, Memorial Conference Dedicated to the Centenary of G. S. Knabe, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, 9.09.20.

20. ‘The Adaptation of Ancient Greek Mythology in Medieval Byzantine Mythography: Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Gregory of Corinth’ - ‘Dialogue between Cultures: Interpretation, Adaptation, Translation’, XIV Annual International Conference in Memory of M. L. Gasparov, organised by the Russian State University for the Humanities and the Russian Language Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 23.09.20.

21. ‘The Myth of Ixion in Russian Drama’ - ‘Text in the Process of Communication’, XII Annual International Conference in Memory of E. M. Meletinsky, organised by the Russian State University for the Humanities and the Centre for Semiotics and Typology of Folklore, 02.10.20.

22. ‘Intercultural Communication in Diachronic Translation’ - 7th International Interdisciplinary Conference on Functional Aspects of Intercultural Communication, RUDN, Moscow, 20.11.20.

23. ‘Diachronic Translation in Action: Translating Homeric Epic into Russian’, International Scholarly Conference, Lomonosov 2020, Moscow State University, 27.11.2020. 

24. ‘Adamistic Ideals in Nikolay Gumilev’s play ‘Acteon’’, V Gumilev Conference, St Petersburg University, 17.04. 2021.

25. ‘Atmospheric Disasters in the Russian Chronicles and Ancient Historiography’, International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, 05.07.21.

26. ‘Transcending the Boundaries between Life and Death in Russian Mythological Drama’, 14th Annual Conference on Death and Migration in World Mythology, The International Association for Comparative Mythology, 23.08.2021.

27. ‘Myth-Making and Performance Practice in Early 20th Century Russian Theatre’, Cambridge AHRC International Conference, supported by the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC, 15.09.2021.

28. ‘Natural Disasters in Medieval and Modern Russian Culture’, International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, 06.07.22.

 

Awards and Grants


Doctoral research funded by AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership.

 

Memberships

  • Modern Languages Association
  • AATSEEL
  • IACM International Association for Comparative Mythology
  • The Classical Association
  • Associazione Internazionale di Archeologia Classica
  • Viking Society for Northern Research