Institute of the Humanities & Global Cultures
Institute of the Humanities & Global Cultures

The Reading Lab

The Reading Lab is an interdisciplinary, comparative, and transhistorical project centered on exploring manifold concepts and practices of reading as articulated within cognitive sciences, religious and aesthetic phenomenologies, and diverse cultural archives. Among other topics and questions, lab members consider (1) the emerging science of reading and its implications for humanistic disciplines; (2) the past, present, and future of reading in relation to changing media forms and technologies; (3) what reading tells us about ideas and experiences of self, mind, and imagination; and (4) how reading cultures are inflected by political and economic contexts. These both represent key research questions and areas of curricular development, invitations to reconsider how fundamental issues in the research may translate to the classroom, and how cross-disciplinary collaboration affords the chance to rethink members’ home areas of expertise. 

For more information, contact Reading Lab leader, Jack Chen (jwc8v@virginia.edu).

 

Spring 2025 Events: 

Coming soon.  See the Events page for Reading Lab and other IHGC events. 

Past Events: