We are delighted to welcome Professor Caitríona Ní Dhúill who has just joined the UCC School of Languages, Literature and Cultures as Professor in German at the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, UCC, and also one of our newest ERI Academics. Her research areas are German, Austrian and comparative literature from the late nineteenth century to the present day; utopian fiction and theory; nder theory; life writing and biography; ecocriticism, environmental humanities and literature in the Anthropocene

Prior to joining UCC, Professor Ní Dhúill has taught German language and literature at the universities of St Andrews (2004), Vienna (2006-09) and Durham, UK (2009-19). From 2005-2009, she was a full-time postdoctoral researcher at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for the History and Theory of Biography, Vienna. She was Käthe Leichter Guest Professor in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Vienna in 2016 and Fellow of the Durham Institute of Advanced Study in 2013. She is now an international affiliate of the Centre for Culture and Ecology, Durham, which she founded in 2017, and a member of the Arbeitskreis Kulturanalyse Wien (Vienna School of Cultural Analysis)

In Professor Ní Dhúill’s own words- “I’m interested in how the stories we tell, the words we use, and our patterns of thinking can empower, but also limit, our ability to apprehend and act on environmental challenges. I’m particularly concerned with the normalisation of ecocidal ways of living and doing business; what cultural and philosophical resources can better enable us to perceive and expose this ‘slow violence’? I draw on modern German and European literature and philosophy to think through these issues.”

 “I’m open to discussing collaborations devoted to supporting resilient and sustainable communities in Cork and the Munster region, covering everything from education for sustainability to critical perspectives on consumer capitalism, cultural dimensions of energy transition, and food sovereignty. My disciplinary background is in German and European literature and philosophy. Now that my romance with global hypermobility has come to an end, my commitment to international, intercultural and multilingual research and education remains stronger than ever. I want to find ways of drawing on the resources of my discipline to help achieve a just transition to a post-fossil fuel economy right here, right now.”

Web profile: https://www.ucc.ie/en/german/staff/profcaitrionanidhuill/