People
The project is conducted by a team of eight researchers based at the Leibniz Centre for Literary And Cultural Research (ZfL), the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History (ZFF), and the Chair for Slavic Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Potsdam. Associated Members of the project are short-term project fellows as well as other scholars who lend their expertise to the project. The project is supported by the Advisory Board and Cooperation Partners.
TEAM
Dr. Matthias Schwartz
Matthias Schwartz is the head of the project. He focuses on popular series, films, and talk shows.
Prof. Dr. Magdalena Marszałek
Magdalena Marszałek, professor of Slavic literary and cultural studies at the University of Potsdam and co-head of the project, explores the intertwining of popular culture and populism.
Dr. Juliane Fürst
Juliane Fürst is the head of the department “Communism and Society” at the Centre of Contemporary History in Potsdam. She is interested in histories “from below” and “on the margins” of Soviet and post-Soviet society.
Dr. Stephan Krause
Stephan Krause is a researcher at the GWZO in Leipzig. His research deals with questions and problems of reception phenomena in literature, film, and (not only popular) media.
Dr. Nina Weller
Nina Weller is a researcher at the ZfL. Her work within the project focuses on historical images and figures of resistance in Eastern Slavic popular culture.
Dr. Aleksandra Szczepan
Aleksandra Szczepan is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Potsdam. Her project focuses on civil and military imageries of Polish popular culture since the 1980s.
M.A. Daria Ganzenko
Daria Ganzenko is a research associate at the ZZF and a doctoral candidate. In her project, she examines verbal humor and the development of stage comedy in late Soviet and post-Soviet Russia.
M.A. Indira Anna Hajnács
Indira Anna Hajnács is a doctoral candidate at the GWZO. Her research focuses on the role of hybrid folk music genres in shaping Hungarian cultural memory and identity from the 1970s to 2024.Associated Members
Konrad Sierzputowski
Konrad Sierzputowski is a researcher, writer, and narrative designer. He explores queer humor as a form of political activism in contemporary Poland.
Olha Korniienko
Olha Korniienko is a current project fellow. She is a historian of modern Ukraine with a particular focus on culture and fashion.
Alina Mozolevska
Alina Mozolevska is an associate professor at Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, Ukraine. Her research project explores the role of popular visual culture in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Olga Bubich
Olga Bubich is an essayist, journalist, and artist. Her work incorporates images, videos, and texts on the issues of traumatic memory and misremembering enforced by repressive regimes. Since 2022, she has been based in Berlin as an ICORN Fellow.