This seminar explores implications of the ‘embodied turn’ (cf. Hillesund, Schilhab, Mangen: 2022) and New Materialism (cf. Barad 2013) for the comparative, empirical study of (postcolonial) narrative genres. Related questions are: (1) How would New Materialist perspectives and the concept of ‘intra- active', relational agency among humans and (textual) materiality play out in conceptualising cross- cultural acts of reading (cf. Barrad 2013; Sheridan et al. 2020;Ejsding; Pischetola, 2013)? (2) Can such an approach shed further light on the extended, dialogic acts of cultural translation performed by situated, empirical readers when reading across cultures? (3) Will such research yield insight into the ways in which narrative ’transports’ empirical readers across boundaries of difference and cultures? (4) How may we thus clarify concepts such as ‘transportation’, ‘identification’, and ‘immersion’ in order to further understand the situated, dialogic, and performative nature of narrative genres? At the same time, this seminar explores the affordances increasingly digital cultures of reading may provide for understanding the embodied 'intra-actions' between mind and text through extended forms of reading: For example, so-called ‘makerspaces’ can offer safe areas where students are encouraged to imagine, experiment, perform, ‘make’ and thus inquire into the meaning-making processes these acts of embodied reading elicit. Hence this seminar may also constitute a foray into further understanding the potential of the fast growing trend of 'making' and maker education for advancing empirical research in the comparative study of narrative genre.

Barad, K. 2013. “Posthuman Performativity: Towards an Understanding of How Matter comes to Matter”. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society (28:3/2013): 801-33./ Ejsing-Dunn, S., Pischetola, M. 2022. “Does it matter?: Learning through Aesthetic Experiences in a Higher Education Communication Design Course”. Postdigital Science and Education (July/2022)/ Hillesund, T. Schilhab, T., Mangen A. 2022. “Text, Materialities, Affordances, and the Embodied Turn in the Study of Reading”. Frontiers in Psychology (March/2022)./ M. Leeker, et.aI.(eds.). 2017. Performing the Digital: Performativity and Performance Studies in Digital Cultures. Bielefeld: Transcript. 2017./ Schabio, S., König, S. 2022. “Green Stories for Digital Sustainable Development Education”. FabLearn Europe/ (May 2022)./ Schabio, S. Goebel, W.. (eds.). 2013. Locating Postcolonial Narrative Genres. London, New York: Routledge, 2013./ Sheridan, M., et. al. 2020. “Intra-active Entanglements: What Posthuman and New Materialist Frameworks can offer the Learning Sciences". BJET (March/2020).