Jeanne Riou

Dr. Jeanne Riou is a Lecturer/Assistant Professor in German at the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, University College Dublin. She has been teaching German language, literature, and cultural theory since 1998, with a strong interdisciplinary approach that integrates philosophy, intellectual history, and literary studies. Her academic affiliations and research are centered at UCD, where she actively contributes to postgraduate supervision and curriculum development.

• BA, German and Modern English Literature, Trinity College Dublin
• PhD in German, Trinity College Dublin
• Doctor in Philosophy, Trinity College Dublin

Her research focuses on German philosophy—especially phenomenology and thinkers like Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, and Plessner—and its intersections with literature, aesthetics, and cultural theory. She explores themes such as imagination, relationality, crisis, and subjectivity across the Enlightenment, Romantic, and Modernist periods. Her work often examines how literary and philosophical discourses mediate experience and interpret cultural change.

Her recent publications reveal a consistent engagement with continental philosophy and cultural critique, particularly in phenomenological explorations of embodiment and intersubjectivity, as well as critical analyses of ressentiment and political discourse. These works reflect a deep commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and ethical reflection in turbulent times.

• Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers
• DAAD Postgraduate Scholarship
• A.J. Leventhal Travelling Scholarship
• Trinity College Postgraduate Scholarship

Dr. Riou is actively involved in postgraduate supervision and has served on numerous academic committees, including the DAAD Scholarship Selection Committee and the NUI Subject Specialist Reviewer panel. She has also contributed to public intellectual life through radio engagements and conference organization. She currently leads research projects on theories of crisis and the intellectual history of Antijudaism in German thought.

She has played a key role in organizing international conferences, such as the 2002 'Networks. Aesthetics and Technologies of Networking:1800. 1900. 2000' conference co-hosted with Trinity College Dublin and Humboldt University, Berlin. Her leadership in professional associations, including the Alexander von Humboldt Association of Ireland, underscores her active role in the academic community.