Time to say goodbye… twice: From October 8–10, 2025, the final conference of the 6th PhDNet cycle took place at the picturesque Castle of Rauischholzhausen, Germany, where the PhD students, who have just handed in or are in the process of finalising their PhD thesis were awarded with their PhDNet certificates. The Graz team congratulates them to their success and wishes them all the best for their academic futures!
With a heavy heart but with all best wishes for a bright and, no doubt, highly productive future, faculty and doctoral researchers had to say goodbye to the founder of the European PhDNet and an unrivalled pioneer in the creation of what has become a best practice model in international graduate education. Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Ansgar Nünning, who will continue to be a source of inspiration, has handed over business operations to Kirsten von Hagen, to whom we are grateful for filling the position of PhDNet director from now on.
Entitled Why Narratives Matter: Affordances and Constraints of Storytelling, the final conference brought together doctoral researchers and faculty members of the European PhDNet in Literary and Cultural Studies, who enjoyed exploring the multifaceted roles of narratives across disciplines, considering both their affordances and their constraints in shaping cultural, political, and academic discourse. Three thought-provoking keynote lectures framed the event: Ansgar Nünning (University of Giessen) opened the conference with his eye- and mind-opening lecture on “The Performative Power and Peril of Storytelling,” delineating the necessity of humanity’s need for good stories and so as to live in confidence and happiness. In a similar vein, Peter Hanenberg (Catholic University of Portugal) considered the affordances of “The Narrative of Hope – The Hope of Narrative” in both a theoretically fascinating and heart-enriching manner, while Vera Nünning (University of Giessen/Heidelberg) offered a compelling and pioneering exploration of “The Affordances and Constraints of Narratives in Queer Studies”. Representing the Graz Centre for Cultural Studies, Christine Schwanecke and Danica Stojanovic-Schaffrath contributed to the ongoing discussion about AI and literature, which the Centre has been discussing since the BrAIve New Worlds conference in June, with their talk “Why AI Narratives Matter: The Politics of Factual and Fictional LLM-Fiction(s)”. If you are interested in the many other contributions, please find the conference’s full programme here.
On the final day of the conference, Anna Klishevich and Riccardo Buonamici, both affiliated with the Centre’s doctoral programme Culture – Text – Action, were awarded their PhDNet certificates, which was a celebratory ending to an illuminating and inspiring event. [Fotos von Anna und Riccardo]
