Masha Raskolnikov

Masha Raskolnikov is an Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at Cornell University, with affiliations in Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies, LGBT Studies, and Medieval Studies programs within the College of Arts and Sciences.

• Education: BA from Wesleyan University's interdisciplinary College of Letters; MA and PhD from UC Berkeley’s Department of Rhetoric.

Her research focuses on Middle English literature through the lens of allegory theory, medieval philosophy, and rhetorical analysis, while engaging with contemporary critical theory, feminist studies, and queer theory. She explores how medieval texts can disrupt modern 'common sense' about gender, identity, and epistemology.

Recent publications examine topics like Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale as literary apology (2025), trans allegorical frameworks (2023), and the intersection of BDSM with medieval epistemologies (2022). Her book Trans Historical: Gender Plurality Before the Modern (2021) establishes medieval precedents for non-binary gender concepts.

She contributes to critical trans methodologies (2021) and engages with medieval archives exploring law, medicine, and early trans lives (2021). Her work frequently analyzes therapeutic reading practices (2021) and pre-modern gender plurality.

• Awards: No specific scientific awards mentioned in available text.

As an advisor, she works with graduate students in medieval studies, feminist theory, and critical methodologies. Her research has been supported through institutional affiliations at Cornell.