College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Dual Fulbrights

This fall, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures is hosting a Fulbright Scholar from Russia. The roles will be reversed in the spring.

She was hopeful that she would get a brief opportunity to talk to a scholar on the phone.

Instead Tatiana Spektor, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures, got much more than she bargained for.

Spektor is a scholar of the late Russian writer Yuri Trifonov. Her dissertation is on the Christian subtext in Trifonov's Moscow Stories.

So when David Gillespie, a respected scholar of Trifonov at England's University of Bath spoke, Spektor listened.

"Every time he had the opportunity to talk about the subject, he would mention Svetlana Piskunova and her husband and an article they had written on Trifonov," Spektor said. "That article is so good. It's logical, convincing and simple."

When Spektor visited Moscow in 1997, she was hopeful that she would have the opportunity to speak with the Russians.

"I thought we would just talk briefly on the phone," she said. "Instead Svetlana invited me to her country home. They were wonderful to me."

This fall it's Spektor's chance to return the favor. Spektor introduced Piskunova to the Fulbright competition and its opportunity to teach in the U.S., eventually convincing her to apply. Spektor also received support from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures to endorse Piskunova's application. Piskunova was subsequently named a Fulbright Scholar and has been on campus during the fall semester teaching two separate Russian and Spanish literature courses.

Ironically, in the spring it will be Spektor's turn to be a Fulbright Scholar on a research and lecturing award. She will spend the spring term at Moscow State Pedagogical University working on a book-length literary study of Trifonov and conduct archival research and interviews for a biography she is writing on the Russian author. She will also teach a seminar in Russian literature.

In her Russian and Spanish literature courses, Piskunova, who teaches at Moscow State Lomonosov University, is focusing on her main research interest - the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. Cervantes is known mainly for his novel Don Quioxte de la Mancha.

And whenever she has the time, Piskunova is at the Parks Library, where she has found numerous books on the author.

"There are so many books on Cervantes in the library," she said. "Even in Spain there weren't that many books dedicated to him. Here I read all of the books of my colleagues."

The Parks Library isn't the only aspect of Iowa State that has impressed Piskunova. She spends as much time as possible on Central Campus and is fascinated with the musical opportunities offered in Ames.

Then there are the Iowa State students.

"I was so surprised because in Moscow we hear about how rude American students are," she said. "That hasn't happened to me. My students are so nice."

In one of the courses Piskunova is teaching, "Man on the Earth," she explores the history of farming in Russia.

"She talks about the relationship of the soil to the people of Russia," Spektor said. "It's absolutely exciting and whenever I get a chance, I sit in and listen."

In particular, Piskunova describes how farming changed during the Communist regime and how hopeful she is that that way of life could someday be reinvigorated.

"I hope one day that one of my (Iowa State) students, with their knowledge of Russian literature and language, will come to Russia to aid my country in reviving farming," she said.