NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – University of Oklahoma Associate Professor Dustin Condren, Ph.D., has been named a 2025-2026 Fulbright U.S. Scholar by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Condren is among around 400 scholars selected nationwide for the prestigious international award. The Fulbright Scholars program aims to promote mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and those from other nations. Candidates are chosen based on their academic achievements and the strength of their proposed project.
“We are immensely proud of Dr. Condren for being named a Fulbright Scholar – one of the most prestigious honors in academia,” said André-Denis Wright, senior vice president and provost for the OU Norman campus. “Not only is his selection an incredible compliment to his scholarly impact, it also speaks to the world-class excellence of research and academics at the University of Oklahoma. We look forward to the meaningful contributions Dr. Condren will make through this opportunity and beyond.”
Beginning this July, Condren will be based in Potsdam, Germany, just outside Berlin, at Film University Babelsberg – the country’s premier institution for film studies and home to the historic Babelsberg Film Studios, one of Europe’s oldest cinematic centers. While there, he will conduct archival research focusing on a unique collection of Soviet films from the 1920s and 1930s, which are preserved as part of Germany’s historical ties with the former Soviet Union.
A scholar of Russian literature and culture, Condren’s research explores how animals were portrayed in early Soviet cinema, particularly during the era of collectivization. He is examining the ways filmmakers used animal imagery to convey emotional, symbolic or political messages, reflecting broader themes in the Soviet Union’s shift from private agriculture to state-run farming.
“I am especially interested in how these films helped justify the shift to mass production and factory-style farming,” Condren said. “Through images of animals – sometimes used benignly, sometimes used to shock – the films provide deep insight into how humans relate to the natural world and how cinema shaped public understanding of radical political change.”
The project builds on Condren’s previous scholarship, including his 2024 book on Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. While working on the book, he returned repeatedly to Eisenstein’s 1925 film Strike, which includes symbolic uses of animals to depict human brutality, helplessness and mass suffering.
“Animal studies is a discipline that has become an important part of literary and cinema studies related to the West, but there’s a significant gap in how animals have been examined in Russian and Soviet film,” Condren said. “This project aims to fill that gap and offer a new perspective on Soviet industrial and agricultural transformation through cinema’s animals.”
Condren anticipates that the research will have a strong impact on his teaching at OU. “Even in preliminary discussions about the topic, students have been fascinated and eager to share their perspective,” he said. “I look forward to returning to OU with new insights that will enhance my courses and spark deeper conversations about film, history and our relationship with the natural world.”
Since 1946, the Fulbright program has provided more than 310,000 participants with the opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Fulbright alumni include 62 Nobel Prize laureates, 90 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 44 who have served as heads of state or government. For more information, visit fulbrightscholars.org.
Learn more about the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
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