UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Alexander Panchenko will present “The Dulles Plan for Russia: Soviet Literature, Conspiracy Theories, and the Anthropology of Morality,” at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, March 28, in 102 Kern Building on Penn State’s University Park campus.

Panchenko is director of the Research Center for Literary Theory and Interdisciplinary Studies at the Institute of Russian Literature, Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, Russia; professor of social anthropology at St. Petersburg State University; and director of the Center for Anthropology of Religion at the European University at St. Petersburg. His research interests include religious folklore and vernacular religion in Russia and Europe, theory and history of folklore research, contemporary folklore and popular culture, and anthropological approaches to the study of Russian literature. He has published more than 100 research works (including two books) in Russian and other European languages on vernacular religion in rural Russia, religious movements in modern Russia, the political use of folklore in the Soviet Union, and comparative studies in folklore and the anthropology of religion.

The event is part of the Comparative Literature Luncheon lecture series, a weekly, informal lunchtime gathering of students, faculty and other members of the University community. Each week the event begins at 12:15 p.m. — participants are encouraged to bring lunch; coffee and tea are free. At 12:30 p.m. there will be a presentation, by a visitor or a local speaker, on a topic related to any humanities discipline. All students, faculty, colleagues and friends are welcome. For a full list of Comparative Literature lunches, visit http://complit.la.psu.edu/news-events/comp-lit-luncheon-series.