معرفی
Prof. Dr. Julia Catherine Sander is Professor of Modern German Literature with a focus on reading and literature didactics at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz since October 2023. She previously served as Junior Professor for Modern German Literature and Literature Didactics at the same institution from April 2021 to October 2023 (with parental leave until October 2021). Her academic career includes research associate positions at Goethe University Frankfurt and teaching experience at secondary schools.
Her educational background includes doctoral studies in German Philology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (2009-2014) as a scholarship holder of the Department of Philosophy and Philology and the Evangelisches Studienwerk, followed by undergraduate studies in German Philology and Political Science for teaching at grammar schools at the same university (2003-2009).
Prof. Sander's research focuses on critical reading and critical literacy, examining how contemporary literature, particularly children's and youth media, can be used to foster democratic education and sustainable development. Her work emphasizes reading promotion throughout the day and addresses the challenges of teacher training in the (post)digital world. She investigates how literature can serve as a tool for political education and how critical approaches to reading can strengthen democratic participation.
Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on the intersection of literature, education, and technology, with particular attention to how digital media and robotics can be critically integrated into reading promotion. Her work spans from analyzing literary texts and their didactic potential to developing practical approaches for classroom implementation, with increasing emphasis on political dimensions of reading and democratic participation.
Prof. Sander is actively involved in several research projects including 'Reading literature critically – professionalization of literary didactics in the context of democracy education' (2023/24), 'Robots in reading promotion?' (2024/25), and 'Reading rooms in all-day schools' (from 2023). She previously led the 'Imagine / Reading – Participating' project (2021-2023) and the 'LeseOasen' project (2018-2020) in collaboration with Save the Children Deutschland eV.
She is a member of several professional organizations including the Symposion Deutschdidaktik e.V. (SDD), European Literacy Network (ELiNet), Society for Children's and Young Adult Literature Research (GKJF), and Reading Research Network Gutenberg Academy (GA).
