Recent lectures Recent Lectures by Dr. Radmila Mladenova

Dr. Radmila Mladenova recently gave two talks on how racism informs and structures narrative frameworks in literature and film. She focused on the ways grand cultural narratives reinforce hierarchies and exclusion, and introduced an analytical model for identifying racist design in storytelling. Her approach also critically engages with the interpretive openness of postmodern theory, challenging its tendency toward arbitrariness and calling for more accountable readings of fictional texts.

30 September 2025 – University of Wuppertal 
The Monomyth and Antigypsyism: Where to Draw the Line Between the Universality of the Hero’s Journey and Racist Imaginations 
Presented at the 8th Conference of the European Network Narratology (ENN)
To the program

3 October 2025 – Mind-Akademie, Mannheim 
The Hijacked Monomyth: How Racism Structures Our Collective Imaginaries 
Delivered as part of the Mind-Hochschul-Netzwerk’s annual gathering
To the program

Both events invited critical reflection on how stories shape collective identities—and how they might be reconfigured to foster more inclusive cultural imaginaries.