Sean Griffin
Associate Professor of Russian
- Office
- 102 Decio Faculty Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556 - sgriffi8@nd.edu
- Office Hours
- TTH 1:45pm - 2:45pm
Education
PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
MA, University of California, Los Angeles
BA, Pepperdine University
Research and Teaching Interests
Russia and Ukraine
Eastern Christianity
Church History
Politics
Cultural Memory
Liturgy
Biography
Sean Griffin is an interdisciplinary scholar of Russia and Ukraine. His research focuses on the history of the Orthodox Church and its role in the sacralization of political power: from the liturgy and chronicles of medieval Kyiv, to the wartime propaganda of Putin's Russia.
Griffin’s first book, The Liturgical Past in Byzantium and Early Rus, was published with Cambridge University Press. It was the winner of two international book awards: the W. Bruce Lincoln Book Prize and the Ecclesiastical History Society Book Prize. His newest book, Putin’s Holy War: Sacred Memory and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, will be published with Cornell University Press.
At Notre Dame, Griffin teaches interdisciplinary courses on the religion, culture, history, and politics of Eastern Europe. He also enjoys leading courses in the Russian language program. His interest in these subjects was inspired by his own, unexpected conversion to the Orthodox Church as a young college student, searching for the meaning of life in the mountains of southern California.
Representative Publications and Accomplishments
The Liturgical Past in Byzantium and Early Rus, Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Winner, W. Bruce Lincoln Book Prize
Winner, Ecclesiastical History Society Book Prize
“Putin’s Holy War of the Fatherland: Sacred Memory and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.” The Russian Review v. 83/1. Lawrence, KS: Wiley Periodicals, pp. 79-92.
" Revolution, Raskol, and Rock 'n' Roll: The 1020th Anniversary of the Day of the Baptism of Rus", The Russian Review , v. 80/2. Lawrence, KS: Wiley Periodicals, pp. 183-208.
Winner, Eve Levin Prize
"Putin's Medieval Weapons in the War Against Ukraine", Studies in Medievalism v. 29. Karl Fugelso (ed.). Suffolk, UK: Boydell and Brewer, pp. 13-21.
"Византийская литургия и создание Повести временных лет", Ruthenica, v. 15. Kyiv: Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, pp. 7-44.
Griffin's research has been supported by fellowships from the VolkswagenStiftung, the Dartmouth Society of Fellows, the Gerda Henkel Stiftung, the ACLS-Luce Foundation, and the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies.