Nina Nowakowski

PD Dr. Nina Nowakowski is an Acting Professor for German Literary History of Early Periods at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, within the Faculty of Philosophy and Philology's German Institute for Old German Literature. Her research focuses on religious storytelling, particularly medieval miracle narratives and Middle High German literature, alongside historical narratology and cultural anthropology. She holds a doctorate (summa cum laude, 2016) and habilitation (2024) in Older German Literature.

Before her current role, she served as a Research Associate at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (until 2023), with prior positions at institutions including the University of Zurich and Free University of Berlin. She is a member of the DFG network on Legendary Narratives in the Middle Ages and co-founded Brevitas, a scholarly society for medieval narrative research.

Her work explores themes like Marian miracles, medieval reception of epics (e.g., Nibelungenlied), and the intersection of narrative form with religious practices. She co-edited volumes such as Configurations of the Miracle (2024) and contributed to interdisciplinary studies on medieval texts and cultural history. Recent projects include a podcast on premodern narratives and an innovative teaching seminar on medieval reception studies.

Publications span monographs, edited collections, and articles analyzing miracle narratives, medieval German poetry, and intertextual dynamics. Her research bridges literary analysis with historical and anthropological perspectives, emphasizing the societal functions of religious storytelling in medieval contexts.