Conference Papers and Guest Lectures (a Selection)

2022

“Aging in Narratives and Counternarratives of Migration”, Panel Chair at ENAS/NANAS joint conference Narratives and Counter Narratives of Aging and Old Age: Reflexivity in Aging Studies, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania. 28 September – 1 Oktober 2022 (28.9.22).

“Narratives of Ageing and Old Age in the Fantastic Mode”, Seminar conducted with Maricel Oró Piqueras and Sarah Falcus, ESSE Conference 2022, Universität Mainz, Germany. 29 August – 2 September 2022 (29.8.22; 1.9.22).

2021

Keynote Lecture at the International Symposium on Age and Gender in Chinese and Foreign Literature, Zhongnan University of Economic and Law (ZUEL), Wuhan, 4.12.2021: “Illness Memoirs, Ageing Masculinities and Care: The Sons’ Perspective on the Father”

Seminar “Ageing Masculinities: In Pursuit of Happiness”, together with Josep M. Armengol, Murray Forman, Hernando C. Gómez and Roberta Maierhofer. Graz International Summer School Seggau, Austria (GUSEGG 2021). 4-10th July, 2021.

Seminar “Cultural Representations of Gender”, together with Nicole Haring. Graz International Summer School Seggau, Austria (GUSEGG 2021). 4-10th July, 2021. (6.7.2021).

Workshop Organisation: “Masculinities Aging Between Cultures: Methods and Concepts in Dialogue”, Virtual Workshop at the University of Rostock: 22-23th April 2021. Introductory Panel Discussion: “Masculinities ageing between Cultures: The Concepts Care, Kinship and Relationality in Dialogue.” Mit Roberta Maierhofer (University of Graz), Rüdiger Kunow (University of Potsdam), Heike Hartung (University of Rostock/Graz) and Christian Schmitt-Kilb (University of Rostock). (22.4.2021)

2020

Lecture at the PhD seminar “Interdisciplinary Age and Care Research”, University of Graz, Austria, 27.11.2020: “Alter und Geschlecht im kulturellen Diskurs”

Paper at the workshop “Imagine Ageing: Ageing Masculinities in Irish Literature and Culture”, University of Galway, Ireland, 20.11.2020: “Poetics at the Limit: Embodiment, Masculinities and Ageing in Samuel Beckett’s Early Poetry Collection Echo’s Bones“

2019

Lecture at the conference “Ageing, Illness, Care in Cultural and Literary Narrative”, University of Huddersfield, UK, 5.-6.9.2019: “How to Live in the Words of Others: Filial Narratives of Parental Dementia” (6.9.2019)

Lecture at the conference “Take Back Aging: Power, Critique, Imagination”, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada, 28.-31.5.2019: “Affirming Survival: Perspectives on Old Age, Death and Grief by Joan Didion and Julian Barnes” (30.5.2019)

Invited lecture at the Narrative Science Project of the London School of Economics and Political Science: “Longevity Narratives: From Life-Span Optimism to a Simulated Life-Span” (30.4.2019)

2018

Invited lecture at the Department for English and American Studies, University of Paderborn: “The ‘Burden Narrative’ of Childhood and Old Age” (12.12.2018)

Lecture at the conference “Cultural Perspectives on Ageing”, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 28.-30.11.2018: “Between Ageism and Successful Ageing: The Case of Joan Didion” (28.11.2018)

2015

Lecture at the conference “Forum Age/ing Graz 2015″, University of Graz, 22.-24.10.2015: “Embodied Narrations of the End of Life” (October 23)

Invited lecture at the Center for Inter-American Studies, University of Graz: “Embodied Narration: Death and Dying in Henry James’s Ghost Stories” (March 12)

2014

Lecture at the conference “Meaning and Culture(s): Exploring the Life Course”, 8th International Symposium on Cultural Gerontology and 2nd Conference of the European Network in Aging Studies (ENAS), National University of Ireland, Galway, 10.-12. April: “Late Style as Exile: De/Colonizing the Life Course” (April 10)

2013

Invited lecture at the conference “Kultur(en) des Vergessens: Altersdemenz am Schnittpunkt von Medizinethik und Kulturwissenschaft”, Center for Literary and Cultural Research, Berlin, 13.-14. December: “Becketts Poetik der Reduktion und der Diskurs der Demenz” (December 13)

2012

Lecture at the conference “Pain and Old Age: Three Centuries of Suffering in Silence?”, Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, University of London, October 27: “Communicating Pain: Representations of Dementia in Old Age” (together with Aagje Swinnen).

Lecture in the section “Apocalypse and Literature”, Deutscher Anglistentag (Annual Conference of the German Association of University Teachers of English), University of Potsdam, September 19-22: “Apocalypse and Old Age: Imminent Ends and Lacking Futures” (September 20).

Invited lecture at the conference “Altersstile”, Stiftung für Romantikforschung, Munich, September 13-15: “Alternde Empfindsamkeit – Zum Altern eines Gattungsstils (am Beispiel von Romanen Frances Burneys, Maria Edgeworths und Jane Austens)” (September 15).

2011

Invited lecture at “Crossroads: A Conference in Honor of Rüdiger Kunow”, University of Potsdam, October 28-29: “Gendered Constructions of Ageing: (In)Visible Older Women in Detective Fiction” (October 29).

Moderation of the keynote lecture by Philip Tew, “Extending Narrative and Gerontological Coordinates in the Fiction and Cultural Mediation of Ageing Project (FCMAP)”, at the conference “Theorizing Age: Challenging the Disciplines”, Inaugural Conference of the European Network in Aging Studies (ENAS), Maastricht University, October 6-9 (October 7).

Moderation of the panel “Narrating and Performing Dementia” at the conference “Theorizing Age: Challenging the Disciplines”, Inaugural Conference of the European Network in Aging Studies (ENAS), Maastricht University, October 6-9 (October 6).

Lecture at the conference “Theorizing Age: Challenging the Disciplines”, Inaugural Conference of the European Network in Aging Studies (ENAS), Maastricht University, October 6-9: “Narrating Age: Longevity as a Challenge to the Representation of Aging” (October 6).

Invited respondent of the project “Beyond Autonomy and Language: Toward a Disability Studies’ Perspective on Dementia”, Workshop, Center for Gender and Diversity Studies, Maastricht University, (October 5).

Lecture at the conference “New Cultures of Aging”, Brunel University, London, April 8-9: “Age Fantasies: Alternative Conceptions of Time and Fantasies of Old Age in Fiction and Film” (April 8).

2010

Moderation of the seminar “Young Adam and Old Eve: Changing Images of American Culture”, together with Aagje Swinnen, at the Conference of the European Association for American Studies (EAAS), “’Forever Young?’ The Changing Images of America”, March 26-29, Trinity College, Dublin (March 27).

2008

Moderation of the seminar “Ageing Studies: Age, Illness and the Question of Beauty in Contemporary Anglophone Cultures”, together with Roberta Maierhofer, at the conference of the “European Society for the Study of English” (ESSE 9), August 22–26, University of Aarhus, Arhus, (August 23).

2007

Lecture at the conference “Encounter and Experience: Cultures in Process”, March 2-4, University of Bielefeld: “First Person, Third Person, No Other Person? Narratives of Alzheimer’s Disease” (March 2).

2006

Moderation of the panel “Personal vs. Cultural Scripts of Ageing” at the conference “The ‘Coming of Age’: Cultural Constructions of Age(ing)”, September 7-8, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Berlin (September 7).

Lecture at the conference “Ageing Stories“ of the Postdoctoral Research Project “Age – Gender – Society”, September 4-6, University of Greifswald: “Small World? Narrative Representations of Alzheimer’s Disease” (September 5).

Moderation of panel IV “Mediating Age” at the conference “Ageing Stories” of the Postdoctoral Research Project “Age – Gender – Society”, September 4-6, University of Greifswald (6.9.2006).

Moderation of the seminar “Stories of Ageing: Cultural Histories of Age”, together with Roberta Maierhofer at the conference of the “European Society for the Study of English” (ESSE 8), 8/29-9/2, University of London (August 30).

Invited lecture at the Institute of English and American Studies, University of Potsdam: “Narrating Age in the English Novel: Age, Gender and Genre” (July 7).

2005

Invited lecture in the lecture series “Ethik in der Medizin”, University of Düsseldorf: “Altern als Prozess: Konstruktionen des Körpers und Vorstellungen vom Alter” (December 13).

Invited lecture at the conference “Schmerzdifferenz(en) – Schmerz und Gender in kulturwissenschaftlich-literaturwissenschaftlicher Perspektive”, December 9-10, University of Paderborn: “’I began to be annoyed by a small pain in my breast’ – Frances Burneys ‚Mastectomy Letter‘: Die Krankheitsgeschichte als Syntax der Schmerzerfahrung” (December 9).

2004

Lecture at the conference “Alter und Geschlecht”, November 12-13, Postdoctoral Research Project “Illness and Gender”, University of Greifswald: “The Iron Dowager – Lebensgeschichten und alte Frauen im Detektivroman” (November 13).

Lecture at the conference of the “European Society for the Study of English” (ESSE 7), University of Zaragoza, September 8-12, in the seminar “Testimonies of Disability”: “’Doleful ditties’ or stories of survival – Narrative Approaches to Breast Cancer” (September 12).

2003

Lecture at the “Literary London Conference”, Goldsmith College, University of London, July 25-27: “’The Crime can commit itself’: Urban Effects on the Narrative Representation of Character and Detection” (July 26).

Lecture at the “British Women Writers Conference”, “Gendering Philosophy: Body, Mind, and Culture in 18th and 19th Century Discourse”, TCU, Fort Worth, Texas, March 20-22: “Sentimental Transgressions and Obsessive Writing: Aggressive Pity in Frances Burney” (March 21).

2002

Lecture in the series “Hexen hexen!”, Faculty of Philosophy and the Humanities, Free University Berlin: “Jezebel’s Daughters. Dämonische Frauenfiguren im spätviktorianischen Sensationsroman” (December 11).

2000

Lecture at the conference of the “European Society for the Study of English” (ESSE 5), University of Helsinki, August 25-29, at the seminar “Images of London in Present-Day Fiction”: “Iain Sinclair’s Secret London” (August 26).

Lectures at the Department of English Literature, University of Edinburgh: “Parodic Rewritings of Modernist Poetry” (March 7), and “The potential of history in Salman Rushdie’s epic visions of India” (March 10).

Lecture in the series “A History of Laughter” at the Institute of English Philology, Freie Universität Berlin: “Parodic rewritings of Modernist poetry: Wendy Cope’s Waste Land Limericks and other attacks on tradition” (January 19).