Alexander Jacobson joined the Slavic Department in Fall 2017. His thesis, entitled “Weaponized Works: The Russian Book of the 1960s and 1970s,” explores the myriad, yet systematic forms characteristic of Russian volumes from this era, both within the USSR and abroad. He is interested in how both Soviet and “tamizdat” publishers wrestled with the multi-dimensional character of the book-object, marrying pliant texts to physical forms and paratextual apparatuses crafted for concrete goals.
More broadly, his research interests include book history, paratexts, material history, the cultural Cold War, tamizdat, Soviet publishing, publishing history, and Boris Pil’niak.
Before coming to Princeton, Alexander received a B.A. in History and Russian from Yale University. At Princeton, Alexander is a graduate fellow with the Center for Digital Humanities.
Dissertation: “Weaponized Works: The Russian Book of the 1960s and 1970s”
Advisors: Katherine Reischl, Michael Wachtel