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Cathelein Aaftink works in Literary Studies at Utrecht University and is associated with the Graduate School of Teaching. Her research focuses on the use of contemplative methods in academic secondary education and the interrelationships within Young Adult Literature (YAL) and life experiences. Aaftink's work emphasizes self-transcendence through verbal art and is deeply influenced by Etty Hillesum's writing. She integrates contemplative methods in her teaching to facilitate knowledge transfer and promote experiential learning. This approach includes offering meditations and contemplative reading sessions that align with course content, providing students with opportunities to engage deeply with the ideas discussed. Aaftink supervises BA and MA theses concentrating on 20th and 21st-century literary prose, specifically exploring the works of authors such as Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, and Marilynne Robinson, among others. Her interests also extend to short stories, slam poetry, phenomenology, literary education, and interdisciplinary research, particularly focusing on spiritual themes like nonduality and aesthetics within controversial literature.
Department of Psychology