Simon Roloff

Prof. Simon Roloff is a literary and media scholar affiliated with Leuphana University of Lüneburg and the Herder-Kolleg Centre for Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies. Formerly a junior professor at the University of Hildesheim's Institute for Literary Writing and Literary Studies, he holds a doctorate from the Robert Walser Graduate School in Media Historiographies. His research focuses on cultural technology theory, political literature, and the history of Digital Humanities, particularly their intersections with 20th-century conceptual art and AI-driven literary production.

Educational Background:

• Bachelor's/Master's degrees from Humboldt University of Berlin and Leipzig Literature Institute
• Doctorate at Robert Walser Graduate School (Media Historiographies)

Research Interests:

Explores media-historical genealogies of AI-based speech synthesis, tracing their connections to conceptual literature and cybernetics since the 1960s. Critically examines the origins of Digital Humanities, challenging its self-mythologization through analyses of early formalization techniques in anthropology and literary studies. Current projects include a digital poetry initiative and re-evaluation of the Index Thomisticus-IBM collaboration.

Affiliations:

• Spokesperson: DFG Research Training Group 2477 "Ästhetische Praxis" (until departure)
• Member: Herder-Kolleg transdisciplinary research center

Grants & Projects:

• DFG-funded graduate school projects
• MECS (Media, Cognition, Art) collaborative initiatives