Manuel Mühlbacher

Dr. Manuel Mühlbacher is a University Assistant at the Department of Romance Studies within the Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies at the University of Vienna. His academic profile reflects deep expertise in Romance Philology and Comparative Literature, with particular focus on narrative theory and early modern literature. His recent habilitation at LMU Munich (awarded May 7, 2025) on 'The Wound as a Principle of Narrative: Ariosto, Cervantes, and the Transformation of Adventure in the Early Modern Period' represents a significant scholarly achievement.

His research interests span narrative theory, particularly adventure narratives across historical periods; 18th century French philosophy (with emphasis on Condillac and Diderot); memory studies in relation to narrative structure; and the intersection of violence and storytelling. His work demonstrates how literary wounds function as narrative structural elements that both propel and conclude adventure stories.

His research output reveals a consistent exploration of how adventure narratives balance contingency and providence, with particular attention to Ariosto's Orlando furioso and Cervantes' Don Quixote. His habilitation thesis argues that wounds in adventure narratives have the 'miraculous property of healing without a trace' and that there is 'an inherent affinity between wounding and narrative.'

• Venia Legendi for Romance Philology and General and Comparative Literature at LMU Munich (2025)

Mühlbacher's teaching portfolio at the University of Vienna includes courses on Italian literary landmarks, French cinema comedy, narrative beginnings in French novels, and the fragmentation of self in Svevo and Pirandello. His academic journey includes a B.A. in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory from LMU Munich (2011), an M.St. in Modern Languages from Oxford University (2013), and a Ph.D. from LMU Munich (2017).