Dr Abigail Karas

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

Email
ark20@st-andrews.ac.uk

 

Research areas

My research looks at the interaction between urban space and local identity in Moldova and Russia, the legacies of centralised urban planning and the marketisation of the post-socialist city. I am also interested in interdisciplinarity and the use of alternative methodological approaches to the study and critique of history, culture and society. â€‹

I am currently a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of Modern Languages. My project explores the construction of national and civic identities in the Republic of Moldova following its independence from the Soviet Union, examining how authorities have used architecture and urban planning to express notions of Moldovan nationhood and how citizens have responded to these efforts. By exploring the processes through which Moldova’s urban landscapes have acquired identities and material forms, this study will reveal the complex overlapping cultural geographies that shape contemporary political and social imaginings of Moldovan identity.​

Selected publications

  • Open access
    Karas, A., 30 Mar 2026, Contentious spaces: uncovering the hidden narratives of state-socialist built heritage. Babić, M. & Mager, T. (eds.). Leuven: Leuven University Press, p. 175-192

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

  • Open access
    Karas, A., 11 Jan 2026, In: Memory Studies. Online First

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

  • Open access
    Karas, A., 21 Mar 2025, In: Leisure studies. 44, 5, p. 812-825

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Karas, A., 1 Dec 2025, In: City & Society. 37, 3, e70021.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review

  • Open access
    Karas, A., 21 May 2024, In: Problems of Post-Communism. Latest Articles

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Karas, A., 7 Dec 2023, In: Europe-Asia Studies. 75, 10, p. 1798-1799

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review

  • Karas, A., 9 Dec 2022, Researching in the former Soviet Union: stories from the field. Dall'Agnola, J., Edwards, A. & Howlett, M. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, p. 73-90 (BASEES/Routledge series on Russian and East European studies; vol. 150).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

  • Karas, A., 1 Jan 2022, In: Slavonic and East European Review. 100, 1, p. 127-156

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Karas, A., 22 Mar 2021, In: Europe-Asia Studies. 73, 3, p. 590-592

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review