Russian Studies Workshop

Dr. Zhanna Chernova will present the results of her research on the organization of orphan care in contemporary Russia, focusing primarily on the manner in which foster parents construct their status and the cultural models they use to interpret the concept of foster parenting, whether as personalized care based on love or as a form of compensated employment. Dr. Chernova will also talk about the benefits and risks that attend the professionalization of foster parenting, an important aspect of current Russian policy directed toward the deinstitutionalization of orphan care.

Zhanna Chernova, Ph.D.,is Professor in the Department of Sociology at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia (Saint Petersburg) and the author of numerous publications on family and gender politics in Russia and Europe. Her research interests include gender studies, family and social politics, politics and everyday life in Soviet society, and visual sociology.

Co-sponsored by REEI and RSW