Claudia JacobiView profile
Professor
Prof. Dr. Claudia Jacobi is a full Professor of Romance Literature and Cultural Studies at the University of Bonn, where she holds a permanent W3 professorship. She is also the Chair of the Bonn Italy Center and a speaker of the trinational graduate program Italianistica (Bonn, Paris-Sorbonne, Florence). Her academic work spans multiple Romance literatures and interdisciplinary fields, with a strong focus on gender, body, and emotion studies. She has held visiting professorships at institutions including Sorbonne University, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and Ovidius University in Romania. Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn: W3 Professor (2022–present) Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: FONTE Foundation Guest Professor (2021–2022) Universities of Paris IV (Sorbonne), Bonn, and Florence: Doctoral Research (2012–2015) Goethe University Frankfurt: Studies in Romance Philology and Sociology (2006–2012) Her research interests include Dantesque mythopoetics, medieval and Renaissance women poets, Proust and autofiction, eating disorder narratives, gender and body studies, and intermedial approaches in literature and art. She explores emotional discourses such as laughter and tears, love in baroque theatre, and autobiographical writing in France, Italy, and Spain. Her work is deeply comparative and transnational, often analyzing cultural transfers across Romance-speaking regions. Her recent publications and lecture topics reveal a strong trend toward the literary and cultural representation of emotions, the body, and gender. She frequently examines how literature negotiates trauma, identity, and social norms, especially in relation to female authors and marginalized narratives. Her editorial projects, such as Riso, pianto, lacrime and Érotisme et esthétique des larmes , highlight a sustained interest in affect and aesthetics across historical periods. Kurt Ringger Prize (2023) Heisenberg Fellowship (DFG, 2021) Young Scientist of the Year by DIE ZEIT (2020) Premio Florencio Segura (2019) Premio Salvatore Quasimodo (2018) Prix de la République française (2016) Prof. Jacobi has supervised numerous doctoral and habilitation projects and regularly mentors master's and bachelor's theses. She has secured funding through prestigious fellowships and grants, including from the DFG and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her leadership roles include serving on the scientific advisory boards of several journals and book series, and as Vice President of the Institut français in Bonn since 2023. She is also an external board member of the Sorbonne’s doctoral school in French Studies. She leads the Bonn Italy Center and co-founded the early-career network RomANa. She has organized multiple international conferences on topics such as gender in drama, emotion in literature, and intermediality. Her research is conducted in close collaboration with institutions in France, Italy, and Spain, reflecting her deeply international academic profile.