Our students drive our passion for education, community, and shared learning experiences. When students are passionate and engaged, we know that they will leave the classroom as more informed global citizens and hopefully with a renewed interest in the field of Slavic and East European languages and cultures.

Today we would like to highlight one of our students, Summer Shigley. This semester, Summer took Russian 3355.99 (online): Vodka in Russian Society and Culture: Deconstructing Myths with one of our GTA's, Lejla Veskovic. Summer's hard work and interest in this course, we hope, can show the opportunities students can find in our courses and at the Department to demonstrate their unique talents and interests. 

Please see Summer's project and her reflections about her time with the us below! The Slavic Department would also like to wish Summer Shigley the best of luck in her efforts to secure funding for the PhD program in Folklore and Practical Religion at the University of Aberdeen, in Aberdeen, Scotland! 

Summer Shigley

My journey into Russian studies was unconventional, but it was a testament to my resilience and adaptability. A traumatic brain injury led to a language substitution accommodation, a pivotal moment that allowed me to pursue my degree through upper-level coursework in non-English-speaking cultures. This accommodation was not just a necessity, but a gateway to a profound exploration of Russian folklore and culture, areas that have always captivated me as a student of Comparative Studies and Religious Studies.

The course I took, Vodka and Politics in Russian History, was more than an academic requirement; it was a window into the entanglement of tradition, trauma, and power that shapes collective identity. What struck me most was how vodka is never just a drink in Russian life. It is a cultural agent, a ritual substance woven through celebrations, grief, and statecraft alike. This duality became the focus of my paper, Swallowing Suffering, in which I examined the ways vodka has functioned both as a social glue and as an instrument of political control. Drawing on sources such as Mark Schrad’s Vodka Politics and Boris Segal’s Russian Drinking, I traced how autocratic regimes commodified alcohol to pacify dissent and maintain economic power. The readings revealed that vodka consumption was not merely a symptom of hardship but a mechanism for institutionalizing dependence.

As a folklorist, I was particularly drawn to the idea that drinking rituals serve as a form of cultural storytelling. Whether in the liminal spaces of weddings and funerals or in the half-satirical journey of Erofeev’s Moscow to the End of the Line, vodka becomes a character in its own right; an ambiguous figure that nourishes both connection and loss. My project also drew parallels with modern American opioid culture, recognizing that addiction is a global folklore of coping and survival.

Alongside my paper, I created an anti-drinking poster inspired by the visual propaganda strategies we studied in class. The poster juxtaposed the authority of the tsar with the message “Sobriety Upholds the Throne; Drunkenness Destroys It,” reflecting how rulers have historically leveraged temperance and intoxication as tools of governance. This project was a culmination of my academic journey, demonstrating how my studies have influenced my creative work. Designing this piece underscored for me how art, myth, and policy converge to shape collective consciousness.

Studying in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures has been a profoundly enriching experience. My unconventional path into this field has reinforced my commitment to understanding how cultural practices, even the seemingly ordinary ones, encode histories of power, resilience, and meaning. Whether through folklore, religion, or the politics of the everyday, I am grateful for the opportunity to delve into these questions in a department that values and encourages interdisciplinary exploration.

See Summer's Paper and Poster linked below!