Michael M. Ossorgin VIII

Michael Ossorgin is a specialist in 19th-century Russian literature and culture with expertise in Dostoevsky, Bakhtin, Russian iconography, Russian Personalism, and Russian language pedagogy. His research integrates visual arts, literature, philosophy, and religious thought, focusing on time-sense in Dostoevsky’s work.

Ossorgin’s innovative theoretical framework reconfigures Bakhtinian time-space, distinguishing between the chronotope and what he terms the ‘‘kairotope”—two aspects of time-sense in aesthetic perception. This approach illuminates the interplay between chronological time and kairic moments of revelatory experience in literary texts.

Currently serving as Director of the Russian Program in Fordham University’s Department of Languages and Cultures, he has developed an intellectual community through program-building and public-facing interviews with renowned experts on ‘‘The Russia Question,” sponsored by Fordham’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center. As a member of Northwestern University’s Research Initiative for Russian Literature, Philosophy and Religious Thought, Ossorgin continues to advance interdisciplinary approaches that bridge literary criticism, visual aesthetics, and philosophical inquiry.

Columbia University, New York, NY, 2008–2017

• Ph.D. in Slavic Languages, ‘‘Visual Polyphony: The Role of Vision in Dostoevsky’s Poetics,” 2017
• M.Phil. Major in 19th-Century Russian Literature, Minor in Spanish Golden Age Literature, 2013
• M.A. ‘‘Dostoevsky’s Apophatic Approach to Defining a Perfectly Beautiful Person in The Idiot,” 2010

Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, Summer 2009

• Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian, 9-week Russian Program, Level 7

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 2005–2008

• Program in Continuing Education (Russian language, Soviet and Russian literature)
• Princeton in Petersburg Summer Abroad Program, Summer 2006

St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD, 2005

• Bachelor of Arts with double major in Philosophy and History of Mathematics and Science
• Triple minor in Classics, Music Theory, and Comparative Literature
• Senior Thesis: ‘‘The Death of Pride; Bearing Fruit in the World,” on Dostoevsky’s works

Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA, 2004

• Summer Architecture Intensive

Summer School of Russian Liturgical Music, Jordanville, NY, Summers 2002-2003

• Summer Russian Orthodox Choral Conducting Intensive

Ossorgin is committed to thoughtful critical engagement with Russian cultural heritage while addressing contemporary contexts. His teaching emphasizes student participation and collaborative learning through careful juxtapositions of texts and contexts.

At Fordham University, Professor Ossorgin has developed a comprehensive Russian language program from introductory to advanced levels. His structured curriculum guides students through a complete linguistic journey, with those completing four semesters achieving A2 proficiency according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The Russian Minor Program he oversees requires six courses beyond the introductory level and achieves B1 proficiency, preparing students to understand standard language on familiar matters, navigate Russian-speaking environments, and express opinions and experiences with increasing sophistication. His program distinguishes itself through interdisciplinary course offerings integrating literature, philosophy, visual arts, and poetry.

Professor Ossorgin’s language teaching expertise extends beyond Fordham, having also taught Advanced Intermediate Russian in Middlebury College’s prestigious intensive language program. His pedagogical approach balances technical linguistic instruction with cultural immersion, preparing students not only to speak Russian but to engage meaningfully with Russian cultural contexts and intellectual traditions.

• The Brothers Karamazov
• The Great Russian Minds: Mikhail Bakhtin
• The Great Russian Minds: Russian Personalism
• The Apocalypse Course: Russian and American Visions
• Russian Iconography and the Arts
• Dostoevsky and Race in America
• Russian Visions: The Interplay Between Russian Art and Literature in the Mid-19th and Early 20th Centuries
• Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and The Meaning of Life and Death
• Media and the Russian State: Censorship in Russian Media in 19th, 20th, and 21st C.
• Russian Poetry, Music, and Film Translation
• Advanced Russian Grammar
• Russian Language and Literature
• Intermediate Russian
• Intro to Russian