Karen Hewitt, a Scholar Who Bridges Russian and British Cultures

Abstract

This article is devoted to Karen Hewitt, an Oxford lecturer and scholar in the field of English and Russian literature and comparative literary studies who became an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for services to building academic and cultural understanding between the UK and Russia in 2014. Different aspects of her activities – teaching in Oxford and several Russian universities, research, editing and publishing, organising academic contacts – are aimed at bridging the two cultures and establishing academic collaboration between Russian and English scholars. Much attention is paid to Karen Hewitt’s project ‘Contemporary English Literature in Russian Universities’, run by her with the financial support of the Oxford-Russia Fund. The project has united representatives of more than 100 universities from Russia and Belarus.