Alena Aniskiewicz is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities (CISAH) and a member of the core faculty in the Center for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at Michigan State University. She teaches courses throughout MSU’s Integrated Arts and Humanities (IAH) curriculum on topics including representations of college in popular culture, narratives of automotive travel, and Eastern European hip hop, cinema, and humor. In addition to her teaching, for which she received the Fintz Award for Teaching Excellence in the Arts and Humanities in 2023, Alena is the faculty advisor for the MSU Polish Student Association and chair of the IAH Student Awards Committee.
Alena holds a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures from the University of Michigan, where she was also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for the Humanities. Her research explores Polish popular culture, literary history, and cultural heritage. Her writing on Eastern European culture has been published by the Journal of Popular Music Studies, Culture.pl, The Mercurian: A Theatrical Translation Review, Cosmopolitan Review, and the Seattle Opera. She is currently working on a book on Polish hip hop and the nation’s poetic tradition.