Natalia Georgievna Chirkov
Preceptor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University
Natalia Chirkov was born in Leningrad, USSR, and studied at the State School of Fine Arts, USSR State Academy of Fine Arts, where she received an M.F.A. in Fine Arts Pedagogy in 1967, and at the Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music, and Cinematography, where she received a M.A. in Pedagogy of Stage Speech and History of Drama in 1973. From 1968-1974 she was a Director and Instructor of Speech at the Dzerginsky Theater in Leningrad. In 1968-1976 she was a lecturer in Russian Literature at the Leningrad State Mechanical Institute. Since 1984, she taught at the Harvard University Extension School, and since 1985 at the Harvard University Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.
In addition to teaching Slavic A and Aab, she has taught Slavic 100, a third year language course, Slavic 117* (high level) Advanced Russian, and Slavic 301, Independent Reading and Research courses. In addition, from 1985-1991, she taught Slavic E-109 Advanced Russian Conversation and Culture (high level) at the Harvard University Extension School. In 1995 she taught third year of Russian at the Oregon State University Summer School.
Publications
Natalia Chirkov has published and given talks on teaching Russian, including papers in Harvard Studies in Slavic Linguistics, Vol. 1, and Harvard Studies in Slavic Linguistics, Vol. 2. In 1988 she wrote Neznakomec: An Original Story with Exercises, to accompany H.G. Lunt’s Fundamentals of Russian, currently used by the Harvard University Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. In additional, with Professor Patricia Chaput, she created exercises and audio recordings for the first year Russian course at Harvard University.
Awards
For the years 1987-1988, 1988-1989, 1990-1991, 1992-1993, 1994-1995, 1995-1996, 1997-1998, 1999-2000, 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2011-2012, she received Harvard University teaching awards, variously titled: the Certificate of Distinction in Teaching Excellence in Section Teaching, given by the Harvard-Danforth Center for Teaching, and the Committee for Undergraduate Education; the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning Certificate of Distinction in Teaching.
In 1998 she received the Phi Beta Kappa Award for Excellence in Teaching at Harvard University.