C.J.W. Cober (Carlijn) MA

I am a PhD-candidate specializing in contemporary literature and emotion at the Radboud Institute of Culture & History (RICH). In my PhD-project Reading for Feelings I examine affective processes within literary studies based on the French theoretician Roland Barthes (1915-1980). My dissertation aims to establish a theoretical and methodological foundation for an ostensibly intuitive affective reading practice.

During the Bachelor Cultural Studies (2017) and the Research Master Literary Studies (2019) (both cum laude) at Radboud University Nijmegen I was encouraged to discover my own academic affinities and to share my enthusiasm with others. My research stay with the Centre for Uses of Literature (SDU, Odense) has inspired me to approach literary studies as a social phenomenon with the capacity to connect and move readers. As someone who was once overly critical and indifferent towards literary texts, I am personally dedicated to understanding and fostering affective processes between readers and texts.

I enjoy teaching at Cultural Studies and the Honoursprogramme ‘Heart of Science’. I also organize shared reading groups, am co-editor of Culture Weekly and regularly publish personal essays about literature.