Lise Van Acker

Lise Van Acker holds two master’s degrees in the department of Literature. She first studied Dutch and English Linguistics and Literature at Ghent University and received undergraduate credit at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, whereafter she completed the inter-university Advanced Master’s programme in Literary Studies, organised by KU Leuven. With two academic master’s degrees under her belt, Lise has predominantly built up expertise in the Dutch and English artistic fields of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Her BA paper, MA thesis and MANAMA thesis therefore all deal with modernist and contemporary (literary) experiments, mainly take on comparative and transhistorical approaches, and generally aim to unveil so-called complex, individualistic and at times seen as inaccessible art as – in actuality – reflecting upon the external Zeitgeist and its contemporary issues. Whereas her research is largely situated within the field of postclassical cognitive narratology, its questions and implications surpass the boundaries of written text. To explore and establish a productive dialogue between art and its cultural context (mainly focusing on gender, sexuality, race, and identity) is, by all means, what drives her. Lise is therefore interested in juxtaposing different art forms across various time frames – f.i. modernist literature meets contemporary paintings – whereby a fruitful dialogue is created which allow for individual matters to go beyond the confines of one singular person or period, and elevate isolated, personal experiences to a broader collective consciousness. Since making art, discovering art, and analysing art appeal to her enormously, she has already dabbled in artistic interdisciplinarity through modules on film, theatre, painting and music, and is eager to fully immerse herself in the art scene with the curatorial studies programme – to go beyond mere academics, see research come to life via exhibitions, and create spaces to interact, learn and empathise.