Philip Gleissner specializes in the cultures and literatures of socialist Eastern Europe, with an emphasis on print media in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and the GDR. He is particularly interested in the migration of media: mechanisms that facilitate the circulation of texts within and beyond Eastern Europe.

His current book project is titled Through Thick and Thin: The Social Life of Journals under Late Socialism. It shows how under the umbrella of state socialism a fragmented literary culture was organized by literary magazines. The book traces how these periodicals moderated multidirectional networks that connected the cultures of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and the West in a dynamic manner.

Gleissner’s research relies on digital humanities methodology as a tool for the critical exploration of culture. His ongoing digital project, Soviet Journals Reconnected, explores Soviet magazines through their data.