Steven Willemsen

Dr. Steven Willemsen is an Assistant Professor in Arts & Cognition at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and an affiliated researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt. His research focuses on Film & Media Studies, Narrative Theory, Arts & Cognition, and Empirical Aesthetics. He holds a PhD from the University of Groningen (2018) and a Research Master in Literary & Cultural Studies (2013).

Willemsen’s work examines cognitive challenges in storytelling, particularly in complex films and narratives. He has authored Impossible Puzzle Films: A Cognitive Approach to Contemporary Complex Cinema (2017) and edited Puzzling Stories: The Aesthetic Appeal of Cognitive Challenge (2022). He has held visiting positions at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is a Fellow of the Society for the Cognitive Study of the Moving Image (SCSMI).

His research emphasizes how audiences engage with nonlinear narratives, temporal uncertainty, and cognitive dissonance in media. Recent projects explore embodied cognition in narrative comprehension and the aesthetic appeal of intellectual puzzles in film and literature. He collaborates internationally on interdisciplinary studies linking cognitive science, film theory, and empirical aesthetics.

Grants & Teaching: Willemsen has taught courses on narrative theory and media studies at the University of Groningen. His work is supported by grants from institutions like the Max Planck Society and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).