Valerie Anishchenkova

Dr. Valerie Anishchenkova is Associate Professor of Arabic Studies and Core Faculty member in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, as well as an M.A. with Honors in Oriental and African Studies from St. Petersburg State University, Russia. Dr. Anishchenkova is the author of Autobiographical Identities in Contemporary Arab Culture (Edinburgh University Press, 2014) and Modern Saudi Arabia (Bloomsbury, 2020). Her current research interests focus on Arabic-language film and television, identity studies, and cultural representations of war. In addition to her scholarly work, Dr. Anishchenkova has extensive administrative experience, including leadership in program development and curriculum design. She has served as Principal Investigator and Director of the Arabic Flagship Program at the University of Maryland (2010–2017), funded by the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO), and the multi-institutional Flagship Culture Initiative (2017–2021), also supported by DLNSEO.