Colleen McQuillen

Colleen McQuillen serves as Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures within the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California, specializing in Russian and Polish modernist literature and cultural history from the late 19th to early 20th century.

Her academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Columbia University (2006)
• M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Columbia University (1998)
• B.A. in Russian Language and Literature from Amherst College (1994)

Her research explores intersections of modernism, environmental humanities, and material culture, with current focus on fossil fuel narratives in Russian imperial frontiers. Key projects include the book "Mining the Earth, Fueling Russia’s Literature of Modernization" analyzing mining literature in the Urals and Donbas, and the co-edited volume "The Human Reimagined: Posthumanism in Russia" (2018). Methodologically, she integrates ecocriticism, energy humanities, and posthumanist theory to examine how literature engages with ecological and material realities.

Analysis of her 2011-2022 publications reveals consistent thematic evolution toward energy humanities and environmental discourse, particularly examining coal mining narratives, paleontological metaphors, and collaborative artistic practices. Her work bridges historical literary analysis with contemporary theoretical frameworks, demonstrating how Russian modernism interrogates industrialization, resource extraction, and human-environment relationships through symbolic, avant-garde, and realist lenses.