Dorothee Kimmich

Professor Dorothee Kimmich holds a professorship for Literary Cultural Studies and Cultural Theory at the Department of Modern German Literature, University of Tübingen's Faculty of Humanities. With a distinguished career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as a leading scholar in literary theory, cultural studies, and the philosophy of literature. Her academic journey began at the University of Tübingen, included influential studies in Paris with thinkers like Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida in the 1980s, and led to her habilitation at Justus Liebig University of Giessen in 1999 before securing her current professorship in 2002.

Professor Kimmich's research explores the intersection of literature, philosophy, and cultural history, with particular focus on the role of objects in modern literature and the concept of similarity as a cultural-theoretical paradigm. Her work challenges traditional categorizations between living and non-living, material and spiritual, examining how literature contests these divides. Her influential monographs include Leeres Land: Niemandsländer in der Literatur (2021), Ins Ungefähre: Ähnlichkeit und Moderne (2017), and Lebendige Dinge in der Moderne (2011), which explore no-man's-lands, similarity as a cultural concept, and the agency of objects in literature.

Her recent scholarly output demonstrates remarkable breadth and depth, with publications in 2024 examining cultural techniques of borders, proximity as method for coexistence, and family resemblances in cultural contexts. Her work consistently bridges literary analysis with philosophical inquiry and cultural history, addressing topics from Epicurean gardens to terra nullius concepts, from theft as cultural founding myth to the complex narratives of belonging and mobility. This interdisciplinary approach has positioned her at the forefront of contemporary cultural theory.

• Co-Chair of the CIVIS hub 'Society, Culture, Heritage' (2020-present)
• Member of the DFG Review Board (2016-present)
• Head of the Tübingen Poetry Lectureship (2004-present)
• Member of the IVG

Professor Kimmich's research methodology reflects her humanities discipline—often working individually through close reading and writing while maintaining interdisciplinary connections across Tübingen's diverse academic landscape. She values the University of Tübingen's rich disciplinary environment, noting opportunities for collaboration not only within humanities but also with natural sciences and medicine. Her recent podcast interview for the Excellence Strategy at the University of Tübingen reveals her continued engagement with how imagination connects to survival, problem-solving, and our relationship with material objects in contemporary life.