Sophia Philomena Wolf

Sophia Philomena Wolf, M.A.

Research Associate & Doctoral Candidate she/her

English Literature | von Contzen

sophia.philomena.wolf@anglistik.uni-freiburg.de
R 4206 | KG IV

Philomena Wolf currently pursues her PhD in English literature at the University of Freiburg. Her PhD project focuses on retellings of ancient and medieval texts in contemporary English fiction. She studied at the University of Freiburg and Pennsylvania State University, and holds a BA in English and American Studies and German Literature and an MA in English Literatures and Literary Theory.

In addition, she is the co-organizer of the Contemporary Literature Book Club, a reading group devoted to new literary works in the English language, and the working group Intertextuality and Reception, under the aegis of the Graduate School Humanities.

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^th and 21^st centuries)
• Narrative Theory
• The Literary Canon
• Literature and Social Media

EDUCATION

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES

AWARDS & GRANTS

PUBLICATIONS

Edited Work

•  Special cluster in New Chaucer Studies: Pedagogy and Profession 4.2 (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 Wife and 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 Profession 4.2 (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 Profession 4.2 (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 Profession 4.2 (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.

WORKSHOP ORGANIZATION

TEACHING