Lidia Zhigunova | e-mail
Newcomb 437 | 504-862-3006

Interdisciplinary Graduate Student;
Adjunct Instructor of Russian

Lidia Zhigunova, who holds a masters degree in Comparative Literature from Louisiana State University and has taught introductory German at Tulane and is an interdisciplinary graduate student.

In addition to her graduate work, beginning in 1996, the year she received her bachelor's in German, she accepted an appointment to work as an instructor of German language at the International Linguistics Center in her hometown of Nalchik, Russia. From 1996-1999, she taught German to a variety of different age groups — from young children to adults — and took part in several pedagogy seminars organized by the Goethe Institut and its representatives.

In 1999, Lidia came to the United States to work on an advanced degree at Louisiana State University.While there, she also taught introductory German as a teaching assistant for two years.

She received a master's degree in Comparative Literature from LSU in 2002, and her thesis drew upon influences from each of her three major languages — German, Russian, and English. Research for her thesis centered on 20th-century Austrian writer Stefan Zweig and Russia, focusing on Zweig's life and work, including his immense popularity in Russia, his reception in Russia, and his perception of Russia. In fact, an article based upon her thesis research is soon to be published on the website of the Internationale Stefan Zweig Gesellschaft (link forthcoming).

Her other main areas of academic interest include 20th century German literature, literary theory and criticism, autobiographical studies and film. And through Lidia's engagement with teaching, she has developed a keen interest in the methods and techniques of language acquisition and pedagogical development.

Lidia has also spent some time studying in Germany. In 1996, she received a DAAD scholarship that allowed her to take part in summer courses in Germanistics held at Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat in Jena, Germany.

Although she enjoys traveling and being able to spend time working and studying abroad, her heart will always belong to Nalchik. Located in the Caucasus region of Russia, Lidia describes her hometown and its surrounding environs in the southern part of Russia as "beautiful" and with "magnificent mountains."

Photos of Nalchik
(photos on another site that is not affiliated with Tulane
or the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies)

Photos of the natural beauty of Kabardino-
Balkarian Republic, where Nalchik is located
(photos on another site that is not affiliated with Tulane
or the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies)