Michele Koven

Professor Michele Koven holds multiple academic roles at the University of Illinois, including Professor of Communication, French and Italian, Linguistics, and affiliated positions in Anthropology, the European Union Center, and Global Studies programs. With a PhD from the University of Chicago, her research focuses on the interplay between cultural identity and language practices in migrant communities, particularly bilingual speakers' narrative discourse. Her work explores how individuals perform cultural identities through language use, style-shifting, and code-switching in contexts like Portugal, France, and digital platforms.

Her research interests span communication and culture, sociolinguistics, and mediated technology's role in identity construction. Notable projects include studies on Portuguese-speaking diasporas' narratives, historical rescue narratives involving Aristides de Sousa Mendes, and digital vlog-based interactions. Her work frequently employs chronotopic analysis to examine how temporal and spatial dimensions shape narrative meaning.

Recent publications highlight interdisciplinary approaches to narrative discourse in health communication, historical memory, and transnational migration. Koven’s affiliations across multiple departments reflect her cross-disciplinary research, bridging anthropology, linguistics, and communication studies. She actively contributes to global studies initiatives and maintains research ties with European institutions.