Philomena Wolf – Chair of English Literature including the Literatures of the Middle Ages

Sophia Philomena Wolf, M.A.

PhD Candidate and Research Associate

Pronouns: she/her
Room: Werthmannstr. 6, Room 01 012
Office phone number: 203-3310
Email: sophia.philomena.wolf@anglistik.uni-freiburg.de

Philomena Wolf currently pursues her PhD in English literature at the University of Freiburg. Her dissertation project focuses on retellings of ancient and medieval texts in contemporary Anglophone fiction.

Research interests:

Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Literature and Culture
Intertextuality and Reception Studies (especially the reception of ancient and medieval literature in the 20^thand 21^st centuries)
Narrative Theory
The Literary Canon
Literature and Social Media

Employment:

Since 10/2023	Research Associate English Department \| University of Freiburg Chair of English Literature (Prof. Dr. Eva von Contzen)
10/2019 – 09/2023	Research Assistant English Department \| University of Freiburg Prof. Dr. Eva von Contzen & ERC-funded project “Lists in Literature and Culture: Towards a Listology” (LISTLIT)
10/2021 – 03/2022	Research Assistant Centre for Medieval Studies \| University of Freiburg
10/2018 – 09/2019	Student Assistant German Department \| University of Freiburg Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans-Jochen Schiewer
10/2016 – 06/2018	Project Coordinator & Program Assistant Carl-Schurz-Haus/German-American Institute Freiburg

Education:

Since 04/2022	PhD in English Literature Working title: “Retelling Premodern Texts in Contemporary English Fiction” Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Eva von Contzen English Department \| University of Freiburg
09/2023	Academic Visitor (one month) Jesus College, University of Oxford
10/2019 – 03/2022	M.A. in English Literatures and Literary Theory University of Freiburg
08/2017 – 12/2017	Visiting Student Pennsylvania State University
10/2015 – 09/2019	B.A. in English and American Studies and German Literature University of Freiburg

Awards & Grants:

09/2023	Research Scholarship at Bodleian Library and Jesus College, University of Oxford
2022	Travel Grants. International Graduate Academy, University of Freiburg & Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft Freiburg im Breisgau
07/2022	Alumni Award for Academic Achievement (awarded for MA thesis). Alumni Association, University of Freiburg
03/2015	Scheffel Award. Literary Society Karlsruhe

List of Publications

Edited Work

Special cluster in New Chaucer Studies: Pedagogy and Profession2 (2023) on “Retellings of Medieval Literature in the Classroom” (co-edited with Eva von Contzen)

Articles

“The Shape of Silence: (Re-)Reading Conspicuous Silences in Maria Dahvana Headley’s The Mere Wifeand Patience Agbabi’s Telling Tales.” (in preparation)
“Make It Old: Social Media, Dark Academia, and Popular Reimaginings of Greco-Roman Myths.” (in preparation)
“Introduction Special Cluster: Retellings of Medieval Literature in the Classroom.”Retellings of Medieval Literature in the Classroom. Ed. Eva von Contzen and Sophia Philomena Wolf. In: New Chaucer Studies: Pedagogy and Profession2 (2023): 5-8. (with Eva von Contzen)
“Is There a Source Text in This Class? Teaching Medieval Literature through Contemporary Retellings.”Retellings of Medieval Literature in the Classroom. Ed. Eva von Contzen and Sophia Philomena Wolf. In: New Chaucer Studies: Pedagogy and Profession2 (2023): 85-95. (with Eva von Contzen)

Further Publications

“Musings on the Medieval: An Interview with Caroline Bergvall.” Retellings of Medieval Literature in the Classroom. Ed. Eva von Contzen and Sophia Philomena Wolf. In: New Chaucer Studies: Pedagogy and Profession2 (2023): 110-117. (with Eva von Contzen)

Conference Papers

“Re-Weaving the Text: Retelling Premodern Material in Contemporary English Fiction.” GSH Symposium. University of Freiburg. 11/16/2023.
“#mythologyretellings: Social Media and Popular Retellings of Ancient Myths.” Bestselling Muses: The Female Perspective in Recent Retellings of Classical Myths. The Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR). 10/25-27/2023.
“Mind the Gap! Reading Conspicuous Silences in Feminist Retellings of Medieval Sources.” International Medieval Congress. University of Leeds. 7/3-6/2023.
“No Text Is an Island? The Impact of Reception in Contemporary Retellings.” Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in the Reception of the Ancient World. Yale University. 3-5/11/2022.

Event Organization:

Since 10/2022

Co-Founder & Co-Organizer of the working group Intertextuality & Reception

Since 04/2022

Co-Organizer of the reading group “Contemporary Literature Book Club”

07/21/2023

Interdisciplinary Workshop Rezeption antiker Kriegsnarrative (“Reception of Ancient War Narratives”), Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), University of Freiburg (co-organized with Melanie Reinhard, Romance Studies, and Christoph Winterhalder, Classics; AG Intertextualität & Rezeption)

Memberships:

The British Association for Contemporary Literary Studies
Mediävistenverband (German Association of Medievalists)

Teaching:

Summer term 2024

#darkacademiabooks: Dark Academia and Contemporary English-Language Fiction (Proseminar Literary Studies)

Winter term 2023/24

Women Behaving Badly: Portrayals of Unruly Women in English Literary History (Proseminar Literary Studies)

Summer term 2023

Retelling, Rereading, Rethinking – The Afterlife of Medieval Texts in Contemporary Literature (Proseminar Literary Studies, co-taught with Eva von Contzen)

Winter term 2020/21

Tutorial accompanying the lecture “Survey of English Literature: Middle Ages to 18^thCentury”