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Biography
After studying for a BA (Hons) in Russian with Serbian/Croatian at the University of Nottingham, I received my MA from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (UCL) in Politics, Security and Integration, with a focus on memory politics in Russia and South-East Europe. I was awarded my PhD in Russian and Slavonic Studies from the University of Nottingham in 2016 for my thesis 'Youth Film in Russia and Serbia Since the 1990s'.
I have taught in Russian and Slavonic Studies and History at the University of Nottingham and De Montfort University in the areas of Russian, Soviet, Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav history and culture, as well as teaching Russian and Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian language.
My main areas of current research are into the histories of childhood and youth in Russia, the Soviet Union, the Western Balkans (specifically Serbia and Bosnia-Hercegovina), and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Within this, I focus primarily on visual culture (photography and film), the representation of childhood and youth, memory, and educational practices in these states. In addition to this, I have research interests in nationalism, memory and commemoration, propaganda and political culture, and heritage in post-conflict and post-socialist states.
Teaching Summary
This year, I am teaching on the following modules:
MLAC1161 The Soviet Experiment
MLAC2180 History of Yugoslavia and Successor States from 1941
MLAC3066 Brotherhood and Unity: Yugoslavia on Film
MLAC3084 Russian 3 (Advanced Russian to English Translation)
MLAC3175 Language Project in Slavonic Studies
I am also the Convenor for Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian (BCS) Language at all levels. If you are interested in learning BCS, please feel free to contact me!
Recent Publications
LAURA TODD, 2018. Document, Evidence or Memory? Photography During and After the Bosnian War. In: OLLI KLEEMOLA and SILJA PITKANEN, eds., Photographs and History: Interpreting Past and Present Through Photographs k&h, University of Turku. 63-88
LAURA TODD, 2017. 'Mourning the lost days of perestroika in Balabanov’s Brother' Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema. 11(3), 212-227 LAURA TODD and ALEKSANDAR PAVLOVIĆ, 2016. Belgrade Gay Pride at Last: 21st Century Serbia Between Nationalism and Liberalism. In: ANA MARTINOVSKA and MAJA JAKIMOVSKA-TOŠIK, eds., Pop-Culture: Readings from Below Skopje: Institut za makedonska literatura. 675-693