Bio

Bio

Odile Heynders is Professor of Comparative Literature at the Department of Culture Studies of Tilburg University. She was a fellow at the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Sciences (NIAS) in 1998/99 and 2004/05. She published numerous books and articles on European literature and authorship. Her book Writers as Public Intellectuals, Literature, Celebrity, Democracy (2016) appeared at Palgrave McMillan. Her current research (book) projects are on Experiences of Migration in Literature (book contract Cambridge Publishers) and on The Truths of Fiction in Digital Societies

Expertise

My research focuses on modern public intellectuals as figures with a certain artistic prestige and writing career, who by self-fashioning try to convince an audience, and in doing so intentionally appear on various media platforms a specific style and voice. I have a special interest in the practitioners of literary fiction, who are uniquely equipped to guide readers through a 'post-truth' world. Readers and writers of fiction have a particular power to defend both the practice and the epistemic foundations of democracy.

Teaching

Bachelor Programme: Online Culture

Master track: Art & Media Studies

Honors Programme: The Societal Challenge of Migration

Courses

Collaboration

I collaborate with Kate Huber and a group of students in a seed money project on 'Reading Migration through an Environmental Justice Lens'.

With Julian Hanna, I work on a incentive grant project on 'Fiction as Investigation, Methodologies in Thinking about Climate Change'.

 

Recent publications

  1. 'Fiction Literacy' in the Media Society: How to keep a grip on Realit…

    Heynders, O. (Author). (2023). 'Fiction Literacy' in the Media Society: How to keep a grip on Reality Erosion. Web publication/site https://www.diggitmagazine.com/academic-papers/fiction-literacy-
  2. Jaarrede 2023: Biografie als Dialoog: Hella S. Haasse als Publieke In…

    Heynders, O. (2023). Jaarrede 2023: Biografie als Dialoog: Hella S. Haasse als Publieke Intellectueel. In Jaarboek Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde 2022-2023
  3. Keep on Reading Fiction - 2023 in three fictional novels

    Heynders, O. (Author). (2023). Keep on Reading Fiction: 2023 in three fictional novels. Web publication/site https://www.diggitmagazine.com/column/keep-reading-fiction-2023-three-fictional-novels
  4. Literaire Fictie in de Democratische Publieke Ruimte

    Heynders, O. (2023). Literaire Fictie in de Democratische Publieke Ruimte. In Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde 2021-2022 [2023] (pp. 11-23). Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde [eigen beheer Leiden].
  5. Resilience and Child Migration in Literary Fiction: Valeria Luiselli …

    Heynders, O. (Accepted/In press). Resilience and Child Migration in Literary Fiction: Valeria Luiselli and Samar Yazbek - Keynote Lecture. In Conference: Resilience in the Face of Adversity: A core Studies Approach Tilburg University.

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