Nancy Ruttenburg

Nancy Ruttenburg is the William Robertson Coe Professor of American Literature at Stanford University, with courtesy appointments in the Departments of Comparative Literature and Slavic Languages and Literatures. She holds a Ph.D. (1988) and M.A. (1982) in Comparative Literature from Stanford, alongside a B.A. (1980) from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

• Education
  • Ph.D., Comparative Literature, Stanford University (1988)
  • M.A., Comparative Literature, Stanford University (1982)
  • B.A., University of California at Santa Cruz (1980)

Her research spans political, religious, and literary expression in colonial to antebellum America and nineteenth-century Russia, emphasizing liberal and non-liberal forms of democratic subjectivity. She explores the history of the novel, novel theory, global narrative traditions, philosophy of religion, ethics, and comparative methodologies linking North American and Russian literatures. Current projects address secularization in the postrevolutionary U.S. and comparative analyses of themes in American modernity through Dostoevsky’s lens.

Recent works include studies of J. M. Coetzee and Melville’s 'Bartleby,' reflecting her broader interest in intersections of race, religion, and radical politics. Her courses examine topics like the role of animals in fiction, character development, and the history of the novel.

Scientific Awards:

• Guggenheim Fellowship
• National Humanities Center Fellowship
• University of California President's Research Fellowship
• Social Science Research Council Fellowship for Russian and East European Studies
• National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship
• American Council for Learned Societies Fellowship

Prof. Ruttenburg previously served as chair of the Department of Comparative Literature at NYU (2002-2008) and taught at Harvard and Berkeley. She is a former president of the Charles Brockden Brown Society and maintains active collaborations through grants and fellowships.