History Professor to Share Sabbatical Experiences at Faculty Forum

Dr. Russell Martin, Westminster College associate professor of history, will share "Exiled from the Classroom" at Faires Faculty Forum Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 11:40 a.m. in the Sebastian Mueller Theater in the McKelvey Campus Center.

Martin, who returned this semester after a year-long sabbatical, will discuss the research projects he completed and some general insights on teaching and research that came to him during that time.

"I was very busy during my sabbatical, writing five journal articles and book chapters, editing three books, and nearly completing my own monographic work on bride-shows in Muscovy during the 16th and 17th centuries," Martin said.

"I chose just one of these to discuss: the study I did, based on new manuscripts I found in Moscow archives, on the number and identity of Ivan the Terrible's wives (which, despite all the attention he's rightly attracted over the centuries, is still very much debated)," Martin explained. "In this study, I believe I've solved a couple nagging riddles about his marriages that I hope will lay the foundation for better biographies of Ivan in the future."

"I will also speak about the interaction of my research and my work with students in the classroom," Martin added. "I've always been convinced that effective teaching requires an active scholarly life-publications, archival work, and interaction with colleagues. I'm more convinced than ever of the role of the classroom on my research; the role students play in the way I envision research projects and complete them. The mutually supportive role of research and teaching has never been clearer to me. I've never understood better how hard-and exhausting-teaching is than now that I'm back in the classroom."

Martin, who has been with Westminster since 1996, earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's and Ph.D. from Harvard University. 

Martin appeared on A&E Biography in a broadcast on Ivan the Terrible as an expert on the controversial ruler. He is the co-founder of the Muscovite Biographical Database, a Russian-American computerized register based in Moscow of early modern Russian notables. The Neville Island, Pa., native is not only fluent in Russian, but also reads Old Church Slavonic/Russian, French, German, Latin, and Polish.

Martin continues to translate from Russian to English the official Webpage of Her Imperial Highness, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, the heiress to the vacant Russian throne. Translations are available at www.imperialhouse.ru. In February 2008, Martin was awarded the Order of St. Anna (with the rank of Knight Companion) by the grand duchess for his work on behalf of the House of Romanov.

Martin currently serves as president of the Association for the Study of Eastern Christian History and Culture, Inc. (ASEC), an international organization of scholarly study of society, culture, and belief among Eastern Christian communities.

Faculty Forum was established in 1990 by Dr. Barbara Faires, Westminster professor of mathematics, during her term as Dean of the College and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Faculty members from all disciplines volunteer to present lectures on their current research, artistic productions, and/or scholarship of teaching and learning. Each forum presents new ideas with innovative lecture techniques.

Contact Martin at (724) 946-6254 or e-mail martinre@westminster.edu for additional information.

Dr. Russell Martin