Marina Alexandrova

Marina Alexandrova serves as Associate Director of the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREEES) at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Liberal Arts. Holding a PhD in Comparative Literature from UT Austin, she teaches across Russian language, cultural history, and interdisciplinary programs including University College Signature Courses.

• MA in English, Saratov State University (Russia)
• PhD in Comparative Literature (Russian and Spanish American Literatures), University of Texas at Austin

Her research centers on Russian Imperial spirituality, Theosophy, and transnational cultural exchanges, with particular focus on Helena Blavatsky's legacy, Russian avant-garde movements (1870s-1920s), and unorthodox spiritual practices among Russian rulers. She examines intersections between Eastern philosophies and Russian intellectual history, recently expanding to U.S.-Russia spiritual connections.

Her scholarly output shows consistent emphasis on Theosophical movements in Russia, Imperial religious practices, and physical culture history. Key trends include archival recovery of esoteric traditions and analysis of spiritual-political intersections in revolutionary contexts.

• Texas 10 Most Popular Professor (2019)
• Faculty Development Award (Summer 2023)
• Provost's Teaching Fellow
• Experiential Learning Initiative Grant recipient

Awarded the Faculty Development Award for her monograph Madame Blavatsky’s India: In Search of Āryāvarta (Oxford University Press), she also directs pedagogical innovation through the Provost's Teaching Fellowship focusing on student well-being. Her theater collaborations with Austin Shakespeare Company and Penfold Theatre demonstrate applied scholarship in Russian drama, while her Inside Literature program extends teaching to correctional facilities.

As affiliated faculty with UT-Austin's Program in Comparative Literature and Center for Global Business, she leads CREEES initiatives including international partnerships like her spring 2020 visiting professorship at Université Paris Nanterre where she taught graduate seminars on the International Avant-Garde.