When the Russian eye describes any phenomenon, the resulting view is always fascinating, maddening, and incredibly alive: the Russian view of the USA is no exception to this rule. In the imagination of the dynamic and sensitive Russian culture, the American experience is lovable, despicable, efficient, wasteful, to be imitated, and to be avoided; it contains all the contradictions of intense, striving life.

About the Presenter

Irwin Weil, professor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Science

Irwin Weil is professor emeritus in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. He is an expert on Russian culture and politics and has visited the country over 100 times. Dr. Weil is the recipient of various awards, including The Pushkin Medal, awarded by the International Association of Professors of Russian and Russian Literature, and the Outstanding Lifetime Service Award from the National American Society of American Professors of Slavic Languages.

Besides teaching and research, Dr. Weil is involved in the establishment of a unique American Studies Center in Moscow’s Humanities University, which involves many institutions in the US and Russia. In collaboration with the School of Music, Professor Weil developed a new class, Russian Music in the Context of Russian Culture. The students study music and literary sources and perform intricate Russian choruses. In addition to his native English, he speaks fluent Russian and French. He has lectured in German and Polish, and proficient in Italian, Yiddish, and Hebrew.