Eric Naiman

Eric Naiman is a Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of California, Berkeley, serving as Graduate Advisor. His scholarship bridges literary analysis with ideological critique, focusing on Russian literature's intersections with gender, law, and Soviet cultural production.

• Ph.D. in Slavic Languages & Literatures from UC Berkeley
• J.D. from Yale Law School

Research spans Soviet subjectivity, gender dynamics in Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Nabokov's perversity, and medical-scientific metaphors in Platonov. Publications include Nabokov, Perversely (2010) and co-edited volumes on early Soviet culture.

Recent articles examine AI applications to Dostoevsky, gendered readings of Nabokov, and Gothic elements in Russian realism. His work interrogates how ideological frameworks shape narrative, sexuality, and bodily representations.

As Graduate Advisor, he mentors students in advanced seminars on topics like The Master and Margarita, Bakhtinian theory, and Soviet medical history. Collaborations with institutions like Indiana University Press and Stanford University Press highlight his interdisciplinary impact.