Evgenia Cherkasova, PhD

Education

PhD, Philosophy, The Pennsylvania State University
BS, Mathematics; History of Mathematics, Moscow State University, Russia

About

Professor Cherkasova’s scholarly and pedagogical interests include ethics, philosophy and literature, existentialism, existential psychology, and philosophy as a way of life. She is the author of the book Dostoevsky and Kant: Dialogues on Ethics (Amsterdam-New York: Rodopi, 2009) as well as many articles in peer-reviewed journals, collections of essays, and encyclopedia. In 2013 she received the National Endowment for Humanities "Enduring Questions" grant which supported the development of a new course on the Meaning of Life, an open educational platform, and an online interactive fiction game for students (designed with professor Dmitry Zinoviev and writer Heather Albano). Cherkasova’s Meaning of Life project was presented at professional venues in the US, EU, Canada, and Japan and was featured in the media:

“Why All College Students Should be Asking the Big Questions,”  Huffington Post, 2015.
“Keeping Alive the Big Questions,”  Huffington Post, 2013.

In Spring 2019 professor Cherkasova joined the "Philosophy as a Way of Life" project sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation—a network of professors and practitioners interested in publicly-engaged philosophy.  In addition to teaching, research, and administrative work, professor Cherkasova serves on editorial boards and conference-organizing committees (national and international), and reviews books, articles, and grant proposals. Professor Cherkasova’s recent publication is “Betting on Zero: Existential Themes in Dostoevsky’s The Gambler.” in Allure of the Wheel: Dostoevsky’s The Gambler, Svetlana Evdokimova (ed.,), Rowman and Littlefield, 2024.

Awards

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation project on Philosophy as a Way of Life, funded participant, 2019-2021 

Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, CAS, 2016

The National Endowment for the Humanities “Enduring Questions” Grant, 2013-2015

Teaching and Learning Innovation Grants (TEALIG):     

2017 – the online platform for Seminars for Freshmen;

2014 and 2016 – Educational Game Development; 

2015 – Travel Grant;

Summer Stipend Faculty Research Awards, CAS, Suffolk University, 2006, 2011, 2016

Faculty and Professional Learning Communities Grant, Suffolk University, 2014-2015

Philosophy Department Teaching Awards; PSU, 1999 and 2000

Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship; The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation 1998-1999. 

NAFSA Association of International Educators Award; 1993-1994 and 1994-1995