معرفی
Professor Mirja Lecke is Chair of Slavic Literatures and Cultures at the University of Regensburg since April 2020 and deputy speaker of the Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies since fall 2020. Previously, she served as Professor of Slavic Literatures at Ruhr-University Bochum from 2009 to 2020. Her academic journey includes postdoctoral work at the University of Muenster (2002-2009), where she completed her habilitation in 2009 with the thesis 'Literature for Imperial Subjects. The Representation of the Western Parts of the Empire in 19th Century Russian Literature,' and earned her doctorate in 2002 with 'Narrated Enlightenment. The Polish Novel around 1800.'
- PhD: University of Muenster (2002)
- Habilitation: University of Muenster (2009)
- MA: University of Muenster (1998, with honors)
- Visiting Scholar: St. Petersburg State University (1994/95)
Lecke's research focuses on Russian literature of the imperial and post-Soviet periods through a postcolonial lens, with particular attention to Russian-Georgian, Russian-Polish, and Russian-Ukrainian literary relations. She has made significant contributions to the study of Literary Odessa, Russian-Jewish and Polish-Jewish literatures, and autobiography and life writing in Eastern Europe. Her work often examines spatial paradigms, particularly in Odessan literature, and explores how urban spaces shape cultural identity. Lecke employs interdisciplinary approaches that combine literary analysis with postcolonial theory, cultural geography, and historical studies to uncover complex power dynamics in literary representations of imperial and post-imperial spaces.
Her publications reveal a consistent focus on marginalized voices and peripheral regions within Russian imperial literature, with particular emphasis on how literature reflects and shapes colonial and postcolonial identities. Lecke's work demonstrates how spatial representations, particularly of cities like Odessa, serve as crucial sites for examining cultural hybridity and resistance to imperial narratives. Her research on life writing of Soviet dissidents contributes significantly to understanding how personal narratives function as political resistance under totalitarian regimes.
- Israel Institute for Advanced Studies fellowship (2020)
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellowship (2019)
- DFG research grant 'Life Writing of Dissidents in the Soviet Era' (2014-2017)
- Volkswagenstiftung research grant on Georgian-Russian literary relations (2013-2016)
- German Israeli Foundation young scientist grant 'The Odessa school' (2009-2010)
- Feodor Lynen Fellow of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2004-2005)
Professor Lecke has supervised numerous MA and PhD theses on diverse topics within Slavic literature, including Polish-Jewish relations, urban representations in literature, and post-Soviet cultural production. Her current research projects include CHER-UKR: Challenges and opportunities for EU heritage diplomacy in Ukraine (2023-2027), Denkraum Ukraine (2024-2028), and continued work on Cosmopolitan Spaces in Odessa. She actively collaborates with international scholars through networks like the EU Jean Monnet Network and maintains strong connections with research institutions in Israel, Georgia, and across Europe.
