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Jan Jokisch is a Researcher and PhD student at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, affiliated with the Heisenberg research group. His academic background includes a Master's in Comparative Literature from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a Bachelor's in Comparative Literature and Philosophy from Mainz. He has lectured in German language and literature at Argentine universities and served as a translator for the DEFA Film Library. His research focuses on drama history, quantitative and digital literary studies, and methodologies in the humanities, with current collaboration on the DFG-funded 'Forager Folklore Database (FFDB)' project. Education highlights include a thesis on 'Epistemological Horror in Literature' (2021) and a BA thesis reinterpreting Shklovsky's literary theory through Heidegger's phenomenology (2018). Jokisch has been recognized with DAAD scholarships (2019, 2021) and the Gutenberg Lehrkolleg Award (2018). He has authored and edited conference proceedings, including works on distant reading methodologies and interdisciplinary language studies. His academic work bridges computational analysis with traditional humanities, emphasizing the role of technology in literary research. Collaborations and editorial roles reflect his commitment to fostering international student scholarship and innovative research practices.

• Drama history
• Quantitative literary studies
• Digital literary studies
• +3 more

Stefania Degaetano-Ortlieb is an Associate Professor of English Linguistics and Corpus Linguistics at Saarland University's Department of Language Science and Technology. She serves as Principal Investigator for the Collaborative Research Center (SFB 1102) 'Information Density and Linguistic Encoding,' leading Project B1 on diachronic information density in English scientific writing (17th century-present). Her interdisciplinary work bridges computational methods with sociolinguistics, focusing on register variation, language change, and digital humanities. Research interests center on text mining, data analytics, and probabilistic modeling of language variation. Key areas include: Diachronic evolution of scientific registers and linguistic densification Information-theoretic approaches to language efficiency Computational sociolinguistics and register diversification AI applications in humanities education (e.g., ChatGPT integration) Her publications show a strong trend toward quantitative diachronic analysis, with recent work emphasizing: interpretable AI models for linguistic change detection; propagandistic narrative analysis in conflict zones; and multi-word expression dynamics in scientific discourse. Cross-disciplinary collaborations frequently intersect with history, psychology, and media studies. Awards include the Fellowship Excellence Program for Young Female Scientists (2015-2018). Current grants: EU Horizon MSCA Doctoral Network 'CASCADE' (€521K to UdS, 2024-2027) Data-Pin Project for AI in education (€50K, 2023-2024) SFB 1102 Project B1 (€595K, 2022-2026) Advises PhD candidates in the EU CASCADE project on computational semantic change. Leads a research team exploring Russian media narratives, personality modeling in LLMs, and multi-word expressions. Directs teaching modules integrating AI tools for humanities students.

• Computational Linguistics
• Corpus Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• +6 more

Andreas Niekler is a research associate and lecturer in Computational Humanities at the Institute of Computer Science, Leipzig University, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. He develops computational methods for semantic language analysis and applies them to computational social science and humanities research, with focus on machine learning and data management methodologies. His research interests span Natural Language Processing , Computational Social Science , Digital Humanities , Text Mining , Machine Learning , and Conversational AI . Niekler specializes in developing algorithms including Bayesian Models, Topic Models, Deep Learning, and Support Vector Machines for text analysis applications. He is actively involved in the development of the interactive Leipzig Corpus Miner platform and researches how semantic representations can be applied to literary studies and scientometrics. Niekler's recent publications demonstrate expertise across computational linguistics, social science methodology, and practical applications of text mining. His work shows strong interdisciplinary connections between computer science, linguistics, and social sciences, with particular emphasis on developing robust methodologies for automated content analysis. As an educator, Niekler has extensive teaching experience in computational methods for humanities and social sciences, offering courses on text mining, computational linguistics, and programming in R and Python. He serves as a scientific staff member in the Computational Humanities research group led by Prof. Dr. Manuel Burghardt and represents scientific staff in the Faculty Council of Mathematics and Computer Science at Leipzig University.

• Natural Language Processing
• Computational Social Science
• Digital Humanities
• +7 more

Professor Thomas Weitin is a leading scholar at Darmstadt University of Technology's Institute of Linguistics and Literary Studies, where he heads the German Studies - Digital Literary Studies department. As Director of the LitLab, he bridges traditional literary scholarship with cutting-edge computational and cognitive science methodologies. His work positions him at the forefront of the digital humanities movement in Germany. Weitin's research focuses on the intersection of digital literary studies and cognitive science, particularly examining how humans process literary texts through methods like eye-tracking, EEG, and physiological measurements. His 'Reading at Scale' project analyzes 19th-century German novellas to explore the middle ground between close reading and distant reading approaches. Weitin argues against the simplistic 'close vs. distant reading' dichotomy, advocating instead for methodologically appropriate scale selection based on specific research questions. Analysis of Weitin's recent publications reveals a strong interdisciplinary approach combining literary theory, cognitive neuroscience, and data science. His work increasingly incorporates empirical methods to study reading processes, moving beyond purely textual analysis to investigate the physiological and cognitive dimensions of literary reception. This represents a significant methodological shift in literary studies toward evidence-based approaches to understanding how literature affects readers. Weitin maintains significant leadership roles including membership on the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Senior Editorship of Open Library of Humanities, and Executive Board membership of the Digital Humanities Cooperation between TU Darmstadt and the University of Konstanz. He serves as a reviewer for major funding organizations including the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Science Council. At the LitLab, Weitin oversees research infrastructure including eye-tracking equipment (both stationary and mobile glasses), EEG amplifiers, and physiological measurement devices for pulse, heart activity, and skin conductance. This sophisticated laboratory enables multimodal studies of reading that combine textual analysis with direct measurement of reader responses, representing a novel approach to literary scholarship.

• Digital Literary Studies
• Cognitive Humanities
• Text Corpus Analysis
• +6 more

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Claudia Lauer is a Professor of Old German Studies specializing in Medieval German literature at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. She holds a dual focus on poetry of the Middle Ages and Early Modern periods, courtly epic, and historical narratology. Her work bridges German-French literary relations and cultural studies, with significant contributions to understanding medieval semantics and reception history. Current Position: Chair for Old German Studies (since September 2023) Prior Roles: Junior Professor at the University of Mainz, Acting Professorships at Mainz and Frankfurt, and Research Fellowships at the Heidelberg Academy Her research encompasses interdisciplinary projects such as the GRK 1876 'Early Concepts of Man and Nature' and the 'Middle High German Dictionary'. Key topics include historical semantics, medieval performance spaces, and poetic innovation in works like Frauenlob's literature. She supervises doctoral projects on medieval textual semantics and collaborates on teaching initiatives like LehrFoRM_KuMed. Publications span monographs (e.g., The Art of Intrigue ), edited volumes, and essays on topics ranging from color symbolism in medieval poetry to narrative structures in courtly epics. Her pedagogical work emphasizes integrating medieval cultural patterns into modern German teaching. Recent projects include analyzing rhyme cultures in medieval literature and exploring the aesthetics of pain in medieval lyric poetry. She actively contributes to scholarly discourse through editorial roles and international collaborations, reflecting her commitment to advancing medieval studies through both traditional and innovative methodologies.

• Medieval Literature
• German Philology
• Courtly Epic
• +5 more

Cora Rok is a researcher in Romance Studies at the University of Heidelberg, currently working on her habilitation thesis exploring shame aesthetics in 19th-century French literature. She holds a summa cum laude PhD in Italian Philology from the trinational 'Italianistica' graduate program (Universities of Bonn, Florence, and Paris-Sorbonne). Her primary affiliations include the Romance Studies Department at Heidelberg and previous roles at the University of Trier's Center for Digital Humanities and the University of Bonn. Research focuses: Italian/French literature (19th-21st centuries), Pier Paolo Pasolini studies, Marxist criticism, digital humanities, and literary theory Key academic contributions: Authentizität nach Pasolini (2021), Entfremdung in der Arbeitswelt (2021), and over 30 peer-reviewed publications Her work bridges traditional literary analysis with computational methods, evident in collaborations like 'From Keyness to Distinctiveness' (2021). She actively participates in interdisciplinary projects such as Neuer Realismus in der Romania (2021) and Selbstreflexivität im italienischen Gegenwartskino (in preparation). Awards include the 2020 DIV Young Talent Award and postdoctoral funding through MeTra and University of Bonn's graduate programs. She maintains teaching responsibilities in French and Italian literature at Heidelberg while contributing to academic leadership roles in editorial projects and conferences.

• 19th-21st Century French and Italian Literature
• Film Studies (Pier Paolo Pasolini, Michelangelo Antonioni)
• Critical Theory, Poststructuralism, Existentialism
• +4 more

Dr. Billian Otundo is a postdoctoral researcher at the Cluster of Excellence Africa Multiple and habilitation candidate at the Department of English Linguistics, University of Bayreuth (Germany). She investigates multilingual African learning spaces through translanguaging frameworks, focusing on the intersection of language, identity, and digital innovations in Kenya. Her research integrates quantitative and qualitative methodologies with tools like SPSS, R, Praat, and MAXQDA. Co-convener of Postdoctoral Working Groups at Africa Multiple Collaborating with University of Cologne’s Phonetic Laboratory on Kenyan English and Kiswahili intonation Research Interests: Sociolinguistics, World Englishes, Translanguaging, Code-switching, Sociophonetics, Decolonisation of Linguistics Curriculum, and Educational Linguistics. She examines language attitudes, variation in intonation, and inclusion policies in African education systems. Scientific Awards: DFG Postdoctoral Grant (2022) TWAS-DFG Cooperation Grant (2021) NWO-WOTRO Funding (2018) BIGSAS Doctoral Fellowship (2011-2015) Dr. Otundo actively contributes to academic service as an editorial board member of the Journal of Linguistics, Literary and Communication Studies and the Africa Multiple publication series. She founded the Philippines-Kenya Education Network and consults on inclusive policy design for Kenya’s Bungoma County Government.

• Sociolinguistics
• Multilingualism
• Translanguaging
• +16 more

Christian Mauder is Professor of Islamic Studies at Freie Universität Berlin’s Institute of Islamic Studies, Department of History and Cultural Studies. His research focuses on premodern Islamic religious, intellectual, and social history, particularly the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517), Islamic court cultures, historical semantics, Arabophone Christianity, Christian-Muslim relations, and Quranic discourses. He has published extensively on Mamluk military education, legal riddles, Persian and Circassian ethnic identities, and Ottoman-Mamluk transitions, emphasizing transregional interconnectedness. PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Göttingen (2017) Postdoctoral research at Yale, Princeton, NYU Abu Dhabi, and University of Bonn Associate Professor at University of Bergen (2018–2023) Mauder’s scholarly work bridges Islamic history and cultural studies, exploring how concepts like mujaddid (renewer) shaped religious authority. His publications include monographs on Mamluk court culture and edited volumes on Quran reception, legal knowledge transmission, and Islamic eschatology. Recent articles analyze Persian identity construction, Hanafi riddles, and Mamluk-Ottoman entanglements. His awards include the 2018 Malcolm H. Kerr Dissertation Award and Christian Gottlob Heyne Award. He supervises doctoral students and participates in international seminars, including the Balzan Seminar on Muslim state formation. His office hours (Tue 4:15–6:00 PM) are open for academic consultation at Fabeckstr. 23/25, Berlin.

• Premodern Islamic history
• Mamluk Sultanate studies
• Islamic court cultures
• +9 more

Thomas Hecken is a Professor of Modern German Literature, with a specialization in Pop and Popular Cultures, at the University of Siegen’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities. He has held this position since 2017, following a temporary professorship from 2012 to 2017 and prior substitute roles at the Universities of Bochum and Siegen. A leading scholar in the field of pop culture studies, he is co-editor of the journal Pop. Kultur und Kritik and its digital platform pop-zeitschrift.de since 2012. His research focuses on aesthetic theory, conceptual history, artistic avant-gardes, and the theory and history of popular and pop cultures. These interests are reflected in his extensive body of work, including around 200 articles and 15 books, many of which explore the intersections between high and low culture, media forms, and cultural legitimacy. His recent publications (2021–2024) demonstrate a sustained engagement with the mechanisms of popularity, including rankings, charts, and public attention. He examines diverse cultural forms such as pop art, late-night shows, quiz shows, pop music, and journalism, often questioning the boundaries between art and popular culture. Collaborations with scholars like Niels Werber and Marcus S. Kleiner highlight his interdisciplinary approach. Thomas Hecken has been actively involved in multiple research groups, including A02, A06, AG1 Theorien des Populären, FW5 Fallanalysen, and CRG projects on 'Billige Bücher um 1970' and 'Listen, Rankings, Charts. Zur Behauptung von Popularität'. These affiliations underscore his central role in current German-language research on popular culture. He has not received any explicitly mentioned scientific awards in the provided text. However, his sustained scholarly output and editorial leadership indicate significant recognition in his field. While no formal advisees or grant projects are listed, his ongoing research, editorial work, and participation in collaborative projects suggest an active academic profile. He is deeply embedded in the study of popular culture through structured research groups and interdisciplinary collaborations, contributing both theoretical and historical perspectives to the field.

• Modern German Literature
• Popular Culture
• Pop Theory
• +7 more

Dr. Wolfgang Bay is a professor at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, where he holds the Vertretungsprofessur für Germanistische Literaturwissenschaft mit dem Schwerpunkt Lese- und Literaturdidaktik since 10/2024. He is also fully on leave at Pädagogische Hochschule Schwäbisch Gmünd since 08/2022 for habilitation within the FuN-Kolleg "Heterogenität gestalten – starke Grundschulen entwickeln". Research Interests: Reading and literary didactics Digital transformation in German education Narrative comprehension processes Heterogeneity-sensitive teaching Empirical research methodologies Multimodal and media-integrated learning Projects: Leads the habilitation project ProLuD (Professionell Lesen unterrichten in einer Kultur der Digitalität) and TRILL (Reading interventions using LLMs). Collaborates on LIESL, LeadCom, and When Games Play You. Collaborations: Engages with institutions like the Ministry of Education Saarland, Institute for Educational Analyses Baden-Württemberg, and Symposion Deutschdidaktik working groups.

• Reading Didactics
• Literary Didactics
• Media Literacy
• +9 more

Prof. Dr. Konrad Hirschler is a leading historian of the medieval Middle East at the University of Hamburg . He holds affiliations with the Cluster of Excellence 'Understanding Written Artefacts' , the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures , and the Asia and Africa Institute . His work bridges social history, literary studies, and manuscript analysis. Research Focus: Manuscript materiality, library history, historiography, Crusader-era cross-cultural diplomacy, and provenance studies. Notable Projects: Analysis of the Ashrafiya Library Catalogue , Qubbat al-khazna depository, and the Jazzār Library Project . His research on medieval Arabic reading practices and manuscript circulation has redefined understanding of pre-Ottoman book culture through works like The Written Word in the Medieval Arabic Lands (BSMES Prize) and Medieval Damascus: Plurality in an Arabic Library (Best Book on Medieval Middle East). He explores how non-elite groups engaged with written culture and how scribes recycled manuscripts. Scientific Awards: British Society for Middle Eastern Studies Book Prize (2012) Best Book on the Medieval Middle East (2017) Shortlisted for British-Kuwait Friendship Association Book Prize Advising & Grants: Hirschler welcomes MA and PhD students studying medieval Middle Eastern topics. His research is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany's Excellence Strategy) and the British Academy . Labs & Collaborations: He contributes to the Qubbat al-khazna corpus analysis and co-edits volumes with international scholars. His work integrates digital humanities via the Ashrafiya Library Database .

• Medieval Middle East
• Islamic Studies
• Manuscript Cultures
• +12 more

Prof. Dr. Matthias Wilde is affiliated with Bielefeld University's Faculty of Biology and serves as a Director in BiSEd (Bielefeld School of Education). His research focuses on Biology Education , Science Didactics , and Student Motivation , particularly in experimental learning environments and digital scaffolding. Key projects include DiLernProfis (digital diagnostic tools for adaptive teaching) and LFB-Labs-digital (teacher training in digital science labs). His work explores how autonomy-supportive teaching , role play , and gamification influence student engagement. Recent publications analyze basic need satisfaction , circadian preferences , and dissection-related disgust in educational settings. Current initiatives emphasize inclusive teaching , flow experiences , and digital differentiation in biology education. Prof. Wilde leads courses on didactic modules , master's theses in education , and practical semester preparation . He is based in office UHG W3-133 and available at matthias.wilde@uni-bielefeld.de . Collaborations span faculties including Health Sciences, Psychology, and the Central Academic Institutes .

• Biology Education
• Science Didactics
• Educational Psychology
• +3 more

Katrin Dennerlein is a Senior Lecturer at the Chair of Computational Philology and Modern German Literary History, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Würzburg. She specializes in digital humanities, computational philology, and emotion analysis in German literary drama. Her work bridges historical text digitization with modern algorithmic analysis, particularly through projects like Drama Corpora and Emotions in Drama. Projects: Leads the Drama Corpora initiative for digitizing cultural heritage, focusing on Hamburg Gänsemarktoper libretti (1678–1730) using OCR4all. Research Focus: Emotion analysis in German drama (1650–1815), sentiment classification with transformer models, and narratology in the context of spatial turn. Collaborations: Works with Dr. Christian Reul and the Center for Philology and Digitality, supported by DFG funding. Her recent publications emphasize emotion dynamics in historical plays, leveraging machine learning to analyze genre-specific patterns. She also contributes to methodological advancements in sentiment annotation and digital preservation of cultural memory through dramatic texts.

• Computational Philology
• Digital Humanities
• German Literary History
• +7 more

PD Dr. Katja Mellmann is a Scientific Associate at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main, where she holds a Heisenberg Position since 2020. She maintains an adjunct professor status (Privatdozentin) at LMU Munich's Institute for German Philology. Her academic trajectory includes interim professorships at TU Darmstadt (2022-2023), Ruhr University Bochum (2021-2022), and Bielefeld University (2019-2020). Previously, she was a Dilthey Fellow at the University of Göttingen (2010-2018) and visiting scholar at Ohio State University's Project Narrative (2009-2010). Mellmann earned her Habilitation (2014) and PhD (2005) from LMU Munich, following an MA in German and French Languages and Literatures (2000). She serves as co-editor of the book series Poetogenesis: Studies and Texts on the Empirical Anthropology of Literature and was on the editorial board of Frontiers in Psychology (Evolutionary Psychology section, 2010-2023). Her research integrates literary theory with evolutionary psychology, examining the biological foundations of narrative, emotional responses to literature, and historical reception. Key areas include the anthropology of literary behavior, cognitive narratology, German literature of the 18th-19th centuries, and media history. She pioneers interdisciplinary approaches connecting philology with human sciences to understand literature's phylogenetic origins and cognitive mechanisms. Mellmann's publications demonstrate sustained focus on evolutionary literary theory, narrative psychology, and German literary history. Recent works explore biological functions of poetic behavior, cognitive principles of storytelling, and quantitative reception studies. Her research consistently bridges historical analysis with contemporary cognitive science frameworks. Heisenberg-Programm der DFG (2020) Senior Fellowship, Marbach Weimar Wolfenbüttel Research Association (2017) DFG Research Grant (2008) Dilthey-Fellowship, Volkswagen Foundation (2008) Weimar Scholarship, Stiftung Weimarer Klassik (2005) She directs the project Biological Anthropology of Literature: Phylogenetic Preconditions of Poetic Behavior , investigating language origins and narrative genres through evolutionary frameworks. Collaborating with Michelle Scalise Sugiyama (University of Oregon), she co-develops the Forager Folklore Database for cross-cultural narrative analysis. Her team includes doctoral researcher Jan Jokisch and student assistants.

• Anthropology of Literature
• Reception Psychology
• Narrative Theory
• +5 more

Thorsten Vitt is a Researcher at the Chair of Computational Philology and Modern German Literary History within the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Würzburg . His role includes academic advising for Digital Humanities degree programs, IT support for the Chair, and technical leadership in digital edition projects such as the Faust Edition and TextGrid . He is affiliated with the ZPD (Zentrum für Philologie) and works on computational methods for literary analysis. Current Projects : Faust Edition, ESF-ZDEX, TextGrid, DARIAH-DE Technical Expertise : Markup Languages, Linguistic Query Languages, Database Systems Research Interests : Digital Humanities, Computational Philology, Authorship Attribution, Topic Modeling, Digital Editions, Data Visualization, Software Development for Humanities. His work bridges computer science with literary studies, focusing on algorithmic analysis of historical texts and digital scholarly editions. Publications highlight his contributions to computational analysis of Goethe's Faust, topic modeling tools, and distance measures like Burrows' Delta. He has developed software libraries for stylometric analysis and collaborates on infrastructures like TextGrid and DARIAH-DE. Education : Completed a diploma thesis on "Queries to Complex Corpora" (2005) and a student research paper on "Storing Linguistic Corpora in Databases" (2004) at Humboldt University Berlin. Technical Leadership : Deputy IT support for the Chair, contributor to GitHub repositories including pydelta and faust-web , and developer of tools for topic modeling and digital editions.

• Digital Humanities
• Computational Philology
• Authorship Attribution
• +12 more