Michael S. Flier

Michael S. Flier

Oleksandr Potebnja Professor of Ukrainian Philology, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University
Michael Flier

Michael Flier is the Oleksandr Potebnja Professor of Ukrainian Philology.  His research interests are primarily concerned with Slavic linguistics and the semiotics of medieval East Slavic culture. His publications in linguistics examine the historical development and subsequent diversification of East Slavic phonology and its effect on morphological innovation in Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian. He has devoted special attention to the structure and function of Surzhyk, a Ukrainian-Russian linguistic hybrid. In medieval studies he has analyzed high culture and its interaction with iconography, architecture, ritual, and political culture. His current projects include a monograph on the semiotics of the Apocalypse in medieval Rus’, and an introduction and edition of the English translation of the Rus’ Primary Chronicle (Pověst’ vremennyx lět) by the late Horace Lunt.

In addition to his own writings he has edited or coedited twenty thematic volumes in Slavic linguistics and medieval culture, including The Scope of Slavic Aspect, Ukrainian Philology and Linguistics, Ukrainian Philology and Linguistics in the Twenty-First Century, and The Battle for Ukrainian: A Comparative Perspective.

At Harvard, Prof. Flier has chaired the Slavic Department and the Linguistics Department. He served as Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute from 2004 to 2013.

Contact Information

Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Barker Center Room 368
12 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
p: 617-495-4065