David Cooper

David Cooper is Professor and Head of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with concurrent appointments in the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Program in Medieval Studies, European Union Center, Russian, East European and Eurasian Center, and National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). His institutional leadership spans multiple interdisciplinary centers focused on global Slavic studies.

Cooper's research centers on Czech and Russian literary traditions with specialized focus on forgery/mystification, translation history, and literary nationalism. His scholarship examines how 19th-century manuscript forgeries shaped national identities, particularly through analysis of the Kralovedvorsky and Zelenohorsky manuscripts. Teaching portfolio includes Slavic Folklore (SLAV 525), History of Translation (SLAV 430), and Post-communist Fiction (SLAV 477), reflecting his dual expertise in historical and contemporary Slavic cultural production.

Recent publications demonstrate consistent engagement with textual authenticity and national myth-making, evolving from early work on Russian criticism (2007-2008) to comprehensive studies of Czech manuscript forgeries (2018-2023). His research trajectory reveals increasing methodological sophistication in connecting translation theory with nationalist discourse across Central and Eastern European contexts.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Faculty Fellow, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (2020)
• Title VIII National Research Competition Grant, National Council for Eurasian and East European Research

As department head, Cooper oversees academic programming while maintaining active research collaborations through NCSA and area studies centers. His grant portfolio indicates sustained funding for Eurasian scholarship, though specific student mentorship details aren't documented in source materials. Institutional affiliations demonstrate deep integration within UIUC's global studies infrastructure.