Irina Markina-Baum

Irina’s research interests are interdisciplinary, positioned primarily at the intersection of 19th- and early 20^th-century visual culture and literature. Her current book project titled Institutionalizing Revolution: The Official Mural Art Campaign of the Third Republic focuses on public murals commissioned by the French Third Republic for Parisian arrondissement town halls between 1873 and 1914. She approaches these little-studied monumental paintings as a nexus of art, literature, and the civic culture of the Belle Epoque. The aim of her book is to explore how the public art program of the Third Republic at once represents and constructs a democratic citizenry and the notion of francité within the symbolic space of the mairie. Her research interests also include the intersection of gender and nationalism, visual poetry, ekphrasis, and the 19^th-century novel.

Irina’s research has been supported by the Phi Beta Kappa, the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS), the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the UW Royalty Research Fund, and the Getty Research Institute.  She has presented her work in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.

Irina is committed to pedagogy and mentoring. She had taught a wide array of courses at Princeton University and Bryn Mawr College before joining the UW Department of French and Italian Studies in 2022. Here at UW, Irina has taught all levels of French, from 101 through 303, as well as introductory Italian. She also coordinates the language programs and directs the UW Study Abroad Program in Perugia, “Art and Food in the Green Heart of Italy.” With support from the Global Business Center and Center for Canadian Studies, Irina is currently developing a business French module for existing 300-level French courses.