RB Perelmutter
- Professor
- Director of Undergraduate Studies Department of Slavic, German, & Eurasian Studies
Contact Info
1445 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, KS 66045
Biography —
Jewish sociolinguistics and pragmatics I Jewish multilingualism | Language and Identity | Conflict Discourse | Disability Studies | Jewish and Slavic Folklore | Speculative fiction – theory and practice
RB Perelmutter is a Professor of Jewish Studies and Slavic, German, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Kansas. They received their Ph.D from U.C. Berkeley. Dr. Perelmutter's research interests focus on Jewish multilingualism and Jewish-Slavic language contacts. Dr. Perelmutter has also published in Jewish folklore and performance, and disability studies. Dr. Perelmutter enjoys teaching Jewish Folklore, Languages of the Jews, and other undergraduate courses that investigate language and culture. As a graduate mentor in SGES and beyond, Dr. Perelmutter has been helping graduate students with projects in Russian and Ukrainian linguistics, Slavic and Jewish culture, folklore, and creative writing.
Education —
Research —
Languages
Fluent: English, Hebrew, Russian (native), and Ukrainian.
Advanced level knowledge: Yiddish (heritage), Bulgarian, Czech, and Polish.
Reading knowledge: French, German, Old Church Slavic, Old Russian, Ruthenian, Old Norse, Middle Welsh
Research interests:
- morphosyntax
- pragmatics
- sociolinguistics
- languages in contact
- Slavic
- Russian
- Yiddish
- Hebrew
- multilingualisms
- gender
Teaching —
Teaching interests:
- Yiddish and Slavic morphosyntax and pragmatics
- General and Jewish folklore
- Jewish culture
Selected Publications —
(forthcoming) “Reading Indecent as Gilgul: Queerness, Death, and Transmigration on the Stage and Beyond.” Jews in the Americas, edited by Samuel H. Brody, Luciano Tosta, and Rami Zeedan.
“Edward, Jeff, Blackbeard, Kraken: Name Changes and Intersectional Identities in Our Flag Means Death.” Science Fiction Film and Television, March 2026.
“Rejecting Cure: The Strugatskys’ Roadside Picnic and Tarkovsky’s Stalker as Disability Narratives”, Disability Studies Quarterly, March 2026.
Awards & Honors —
2025 World Fantasy Award winner for Yoke of Stars
2024 Hauffler KU Core Innovation Award, Center for Teaching Excellence
2023 Hall Center Resident Fellow, KU, Fall 2023
2020 Senior Administrative Fellow, University of Kansas
2019 Grant Goodman Undergraduate Mentor Award