It is with sadness that I write to inform you of the death of our colleague, Professor Greta Slobin. Those of us who knew her will remember her loyalty to her friends, her commitment to her family, and her understanding of the importance of irony. Greta's husband, Mark Slobin writes that "She carried on a long and valiant struggle over many years without yielding her pleasure in life, sustained by the extraordinarily wide and rich circle of [friends] that was her hallmark."
Greta received a BA in French Language and Literature from Wayne State University, with a minor in Russian and Humanities, in 1966. She earned an MA in Slavic Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, with a minor French Literature, in 1970 and an M.Phil. in Slavic Language and Literature from Yale in 1975 and a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literature from Yale University in 1978 with a dissertation titled, "A.M. Remizov and the Rise of Russian Modernism." Greta was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Russian Literature at UC Santa Cruz on July 1, 1988. She was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure on July 1, 1990 and to Full Professor on July 1, 2000. She retired on July 1, 2003. Before coming to Santa Cruz, Greta taught at Amherst College and Wesleyan University.
Among the many courses that Greta taught so successfully and to many devoted students are The Russian Avante Garde, Russian Literature after the Revolution, Tolstoy, East Central Europe 1945-89, 19th Century Russian Literature, The Brothers Karamozov, and East European Cinima Before and After the Fall. She was committed to building a strong Russian and Eastern European Studies program at UCSC.
Greta received a BA in French Language and Literature from Wayne State University, with a minor in Russian and Humanities, in 1966. She earned an MA in Slavic Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, with a minor French Literature, in 1970 and an M.Phil. in Slavic Language and Literature from Yale in 1975 and a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literature from Yale University in 1978 with a dissertation titled, "A.M. Remizov and the Rise of Russian Modernism." Greta was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Russian Literature at UC Santa Cruz on July 1, 1988. She was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure on July 1, 1990 and to Full Professor on July 1, 2000. She retired on July 1, 2003. Before coming to Santa Cruz, Greta taught at Amherst College and Wesleyan University.
Among the many courses that Greta taught so successfully and to many devoted students are The Russian Avante Garde, Russian Literature after the Revolution, Tolstoy, East Central Europe 1945-89, 19th Century Russian Literature, The Brothers Karamozov, and East European Cinima Before and After the Fall. She was committed to building a strong Russian and Eastern European Studies program at UCSC.
Among her many awards and honors are an NEH Fellowship for work on "Literary Memoir After the Revolution" (1987-88), a research fellowship at the Russian Institute at Harvard University (1987-88), and appointment as a Visiting Scholar at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University (1996).
Her publications include Remizov's Fictions: 1900-1921 (Northern Illinois University Press, 1991) and an edited volume entitled Postcommunism: Rethinking the Second World (1994), as well as many articles, book chapters, and reviews.
The funeral is scheduled for Monday at 1 at Indian Hill Cemetery, Middletown. There will be a celebration of Greta's life in July, with details to follow.
She has asked that any donations to be sent to:
GYN-ONC Nursing Staff
Yale-New Haven Hospital, Office of Development
Post Office Box 1849, New Haven CT 06508
On behalf of the Department, I express our condolences to Mark and to their daughter Maya.
From The Hartford Courant on May 14, 2011
SLOBIN, Greta Greta Slobin, 67, of Middletown, wife of Mark Slobin and mother of Maya Slobin, passed away at her home on May 12, 2011. She grew up in Russia & Poland, emigrating to the U.S. in 1960. After receiving a doctorate from Yale University in Russian literature, she taught at Wesleyan University, Amherst College, and the University of California at Santa Cruz, from which she retired as a full professor. Funeral Services at the Indian Hill Cemetery, Washington Ave., Middletown on Monday, May 16 at 1 p.m. Memorial Contributions may be sent to the Gyn-Onc Nursing Staff, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Office of Development, P.O. Box 1849, New Haven, Ct. 06508. Funeral Arrangements in care of the Robert E. Shure Funeral Home, New Haven. www.shurefuneralhome.com.
