Kevin M. F. Platt

Kevin M. F. Platt is the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pennsylvania, serving as Graduate Chair of the Comparative Literature Program. His research focuses on Russian historiography, post-Soviet cultures, and the interplay between memory, poetry, and political history. Platt holds a B.A. from Amherst College and a Ph.D. from Stanford University, with prior teaching experience at Pomona College.

His notable works include Terror and Greatness: Ivan and Peter as Russian Myths (2011) and History in a Grotesque Key (1997/2006), alongside co-edited volumes on Russian historiography and translations of works by Anna Akhmatova and Osip Mandelstam. Current projects explore critical historiography of Russia, contemporary Russian culture in Latvia, and translation initiatives.

Platt’s teaching spans Russian and East European cinema, literature, and cultural studies, including courses on Sergei Eisenstein, Andrei Tarkovsky, and post-Soviet cultural dynamics. His scholarship bridges historical analysis with literary critique, emphasizing postcolonial frameworks and diaspora studies.

Recent research and publications address decolonization narratives, Latvian-Russian cultural intersections, and the legacy of Soviet imperialism. Platt actively engages with contemporary artistic movements, such as the Orbita Group, and critiques geopolitical identity formations in post-Soviet spaces.