Sometimes Eliot Borenstein* writes about himself in the third person.

This is one of those times.

In 200 words

Eliot Borenstein is Professor of Russian & Slavic Studies and Vice Chancellor and Vice Provost for Global Programs at New York University. He is the author of Men without Women: Masculinity and Revolution in Russian Fiction, 1917-1929 (2001 AATSEEL book prize), Overkill: Sex and Violence in Contemporary Russian Popular Culture (2008 AWSS book prize), Plots against Russia: Conspiracy and Fantasy after Socialism (2020 Wayne S. Vucinich book prize and 2020 AATSEEL book prize), Pussy Riot: Speaking Punk to Power (Bloomsbury, 2020), Meanwhile, in Russia…: Russian Internet Memes and Viral Video (Bloomsbury, 2022), Marvel Comics in the 1970s: The World Inside Your Head (Cornell, 2023), Soviet-Self-Hatred: The Secret Identities of Postsocialism (Cornell, 2023), HBO’s The Leftovers: Mourning and Melancholy on Premium Cable (Lexington Books, 2023), Unstuck in Time: On the Post-Soviet Uncanny (Cornell, 2024), and Russian Culture under Putin (Bloomsbury, 2024). In 2025, the University of Wisconsin Press will publish his next book, The Politics of Fantasy: Magic, Children’s Literature and Fandom in Putin’s Russia (about Harry Potter). His three books in progress are: Marvel Comics in the 1980s,; Unidentified Russian Objects: On Soviet Melancholy; and Reading the Superhero: Ethics, Crises, and Superboy Punches.

In 50 words

Eliot Borenstein is Professor of Russian & Slavic Studies at New York University. His recent books includePlots against Russia: Conspiracy and Fantasy after Socialism (winner of the 2020 Wayne S. Vucinich brook prize and the 2020 AATSEEL book prize), and Marvel Comics in the 1970s: The World Inside Your Head (2023).

In 25 words.  

Eliot Borenstein is Professor of Russian & Slavic Studies at New York University. His most recent book is Unstuck in Time: On the Post-Soviet Uncanny (Cornell, 2024).

*Pronunciation Pro Tip: “Borenstein” rhymes with “Foreign wine”