Doktorandin Cristina-Ruxandra Burghelea
Cristina-Ruxandra Burghelea is a PhD candidate at the English Department of the University of Heidelberg. Her research project focuses on narrative forms of human-nonhuman relationality in 21st-century British fiction, at the intersection of ecocritical narratology, cultural studies, and relational theories of space and identity construction. She closely looks into how contemporary fiction employs narrative techniques of defamiliarization to examine and interrogate taken-for-granted models of interaction with the natural world within culturally familiar spaces, such as the countryside, the city, the coast, or the family house, as depicted primarily in works by Ali Smith, Amanda Craig, Caryl Lewis, Max Porter, and Melissa Harrison. Her aim is to contribute to current academic discussions on how fiction can shed light on environmental concerns such as dwelling, space-sharing, and the value of nature.
She held offices in the Executive Committee of the Doctoral Convention of the University of Heidelberg, where she organized events, workshops and seminars for doctoral students and young researchers from all disciplines. She has gained valuable experience in content editing and curation as part of the editorial board of the illustrated magazine of the English Department of the University of Heidelberg, “Litter”. She is happy to engage in the academic community, science communication strategies, write and translate fiction and nonfiction, and talk about books, music, films, and social media with friends and family.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Vera Nünning, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Annette Kreis-Schinck.
Contact details: cristina-ruxandra.burghelea@stud.uni-heidelberg.de
