Research Interests and Specialization
With an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and a Ph.D. in Literature and Cultural Studies (both concentrating on Russian area studies), I have focused in much of my work on the complex interrelationship between language, culture, and politics, particularly during times of radical social change. My first book, Speaking in Soviet Tongues: Language Culture and the Politics of Voice in Early Soviet Russia examines the emergence of a new language of state in the decades following the Bolshevik Revolution, and the role played in that process by institutions of literature, linguistics, journalism, and education. My second book, After Newspeak: Language Culture and Politics in Russia from Gorbachev to Putin (Cornell University Press, 2014) offers a cultural history of the Russian language since the collapse of the Soviet Union. I’ve also co-edited the volume, Digital Russia: The Language, Culture, and Politics of New Media Communication (Routledge, 2014).
I am currently working on a book manuscript, “Networking Putinism: The Rhetoric of Power in the Age of New Media Technology,” which examines the impact of the internet and social media on political discourse spanning the presidency of Vladimir Putin (and the life of the Russian-language internet to date). I have received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to work on the project during summer 2023, and have received a year-long residential fellowship from the National Humanities Center to complete the project by May 2024.
My most recent peer-reviewed publications both appeared in leading Russian-language venues.
- The first examines “Trolling, Power, and Political Communication in Putin’s Russia” (2020). If you read Russian, check it out for free!
- The most recent one (a chapter for an edited volume), “‘Curse You, Alexey Navalny’:The Boundaries of Civic Debate in the Networked Public Sphere of Putin’s Russia” (2021), looks at YouTube as an imperfect alternative “networked public sphere” for political debate. This is also in Russian, and appears open-access in abbreviated form in the highly regarded web-based periodical, Colta.
Current projects having me venturing further into the area of Internet and New Media Studies and their impact on Russian politics and civil communication in general. See my Current Research and Publications page for recent lectures and articles on this topic.
Recent (2022–23) conference papers, media interviews, and other public outreach events
- Interview on Evgenii Prigozhin and Putin’s wartime Victory Day celebration on Red Square, with “Background Briefing with Ian Masters,” KPKM-FM radio, Los Angeles (10 May 2023)
- Invited paper: “Prime-time Solov’ev: Rhetorical Strategies of a Wartime Propagandist,” for international conference on “Language, Media, Culture, Literature, and the War: Constructions, Representations, and Responses,” sponsored by the VW foundation, University of Hildesheim and the University of Alberta, Hannover, Germany, 22 February 2023.
- Conference paper: “Navalny, FBK, and the Digitally-mediated Rhetoric of Political Opposition in Putin’s Russi.” (Virtual) Convention of the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES), 1 October 2022.
- Presentation (unrecorded) to over 100 AP Politics high-school students on Russian political culture and ideology (20 September 2022).
- Interview on Mikhail Gorbachev’s impact on Russian political language with Voice of America (“Как говорил Горбачёв?” [“How did Gorbachev speak?”], 31 August 2022).
- Interview with on Gorbachev’s death and internal battles within Russian security services over Ukraine war policy, with “Background Briefing with Ian Masters,” KPKM-FM radio, Los Angeles (31 August 2022).
- Interview on Russian patriotism and propaganda in the midst of Putin’s war on Ukraine. with “Background Briefing with Ian Masters,” KPKM-FM radio, Los Angeles (11 May 2022).
- Conference paper: “Rhetorical Strategies of the Networked Navalny: A Case-study of Digitally Mediated Communication,” British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES), Annual Meeting, Cambridge, UK (9 April 2022)
- Interview on “How Propaganda is Preparing the Russian People for War with Their Neighbor,” with “Background Briefing with Ian Masters,” KPKM-FM radio, Los Angeles (20 February 2022).
- Interview on Russian troop build-up on Ukrainian border with “Background Briefing with Ian Masters,” KPKM-FM radio, Los Angeles (3 January 2022)
Teaching
I’ve taught a number of courses in Russian language, literature, and culture during my tenure at UF. Due to the research fellowships mentioned above, I will be on research leave for the 2023–2024 academic year, but look forward to a return to the classroom in the fall of 2024.
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Contact Information
Office: 261 Dauer Hall
Phone: (352) 273-3786
Email: mgorham@ufl.edu
Mailing address:
Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
University of Florida
P.O. Box 115565
Gainesville, FL 32611-5565.