Distinguished Speaker Series: Literature, Space, and the Senses, 1–3 cr

In the wake of the so-called spatial turn, theories of space and place have proliferated in literary and cultural studies over the last decades, leading to exciting interdisciplinary conversations between literary, film, and visual culture studies on the one hand and fields like cultural geography, architecture, and mobilities research on the other. In parallel, recent years have seen a return to phenomenological perspectives and an increasing interest in how we experience, navigate, and make sense of the world through the senses, leading to approaches such as sensory geography or historical phenomenology. This series of lectures explores the intersection of spatial and sensory perspectives in the study of literature and culture.

“Literature, Space, and the Senses” is organised by the research group Spatial Studies and Environmental Humanities (Plural Research Centre, ITC Faculty, Tampere University), which has studied spatial phenomena in literature and culture for years. The members of the group have led and been involved in various interdisciplinary research projects relating to, among others, urban literary studies, island studies, mobility studies, Arctic studies, and postcolonial studies, exploring these fields through the lens of spatial studies as well as ecocritical perspectives.

This Distinguished Speaker Series is open to both students and researchers. The series begins with a one-day symposium on 10 February and continues with guest lectures by eminent scholars throughout the semester. Some preparatory reading will be circulated before each lecture.