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Dr. Caren Lambert

In the fall semester of 2004, a new face appeared in the Department of Language and Literature—Dr. Caren Lambert.

Dr. Lambert has experience teaching in Moscow, where she previously taught in a joint program of Moscow State University and the University of Colorado. Her colleagues at RACU are very glad that she has joined the RACU faculty. She currently teaches a two-course sequence on American Literature, as well as a course in Genre Studies, and so far the response from her students has been enthusiastic. One student wrote about her Genre Studies class: “It was a wonderful class -- interesting and useful!”

Caren’s academic background is impressive: she received her undergraduate degree in English from Yale University and her Ph.D. from Berkeley, one of the leading doctorate programs in the United States. Her research interests lie mainly with regionalism in literature and what that reveals about the ways that people construct individual, regional, and national identities. This topic is especially relevant for a bi-cultural institution like RACU, where the contact of two cultures generates a context in which people have heightened awareness of their own cultural identities. One of Dr. Lambert’s articles on this subject will be published in the first issue of RACU’s new journal Dialog.

Caren and her husband, Charlie Ryan, came to Moscow initially when Charlie, a Government Studies graduate from Harvard, took a position with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the early nineties. After working for several years in Moscow for EBRD (with Caren commuting between Berkeley and Moscow!), Charlie partnered with a Russian friend to start an investment bank called the United Financial Group. In addition to their busy careers, Caren and Charlie are parents of two young boys: Charles (age 4) and Theodore (age 1.5). Staying on top of their activities occupies Caren when she is not teaching.

Caren is enjoying her experience at RACU so far. “I am grateful for the warm welcome I have received from the RACU community,” she says. “I appreciate the chance to introduce so many sincere, promising and enthusiastic students to the compelling (and sometimes appalling) subject of American literature.”

We are thrilled to welcome Caren to the RACU faculty. She is an excellent and fascinating professor, and her teaching contributions add great depth to the English Major program. We hope that she and her family will continue to make their home in Moscow for years to come!