Dr. Christopher Wild

Associate Professor

Build a Statement of Purpose

Generate a tailored SOP for Dr. Christopher Wild. Improve your application with a focused, well-structured draft.

Biography

Christopher J. Wild is a scholar in the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Chicago, having joined the faculty in 2008. He has previously taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1997 to 2004 and at the University of California, Los Angeles from 2006 to 2008. Wild's academic journey also includes a visiting professorship at the University of Konstanz. He is known for his work on Early Modern Enlightenment German literature and culture, as well as theater performance studies. His research intricately weaves together themes of religion, philosophy, and literary culture, particularly examining the impact of religious thought on modern secular phenomena. Wild has published several influential works, including "Theater der Keuschheit - Keuschheit des Theaters," which traces the historical transformation of theatricality in German theater from the Baroque to Classicism, highlighting the overlooked influence of religious thought. His latest book, "Descartes’ Meditative Turn: Cartesian Thought and Spiritual Practice," explores the religious implications of Cartesian thought and has been published by Stanford University Press. Wild engages with a broad range of topics in his teaching and research, including modernism, aesthetics, and the role of theology in literature and theater.

Research Interests

Courses

Graduate Courses Kleist’s Invisible Theater Living Figuring Survival Baroque Thought and Literature Anagnorisis Cognitive Work of Theater Hölderlin Greeks Phantasm Laocoon Aesthetics: Genealogy Discipline Media (His-)Stories Bible Allegory: Reading Figures Nero: Tyranny Theater Word Image Early Modern Europe Theater Anti-Theatricality Walter Benjamin Critique Culture Karl Philipp Moritz: Theology, Aesthetics, Literature Allegories of Realism Antitheatricality Allegory: Wagner Brecht Meditation Culture and Self Genealogies Media Theory Conversion: Philosophy Religion Media Theology Theater and Tragedy (German) Baroque Undergraduate Courses Thinking Tragedy: Friedrich Nietzsche’s Geburt der Tragödie Augustine’s Confessions Enlightenment Fantasies Monk-Calves Dog-Heads, Troglodytes Hermaphrodites. Monsters Early Modern Cultures Goethe’s Wahlverwandtschaften Goethe’s Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre Picaresque Novel Man Machine Mapping (Post-)Modern Metropolis Lecture Courses Media illegitima: Eighteenth-Century Theater Reform Media History Reformation Fairy Tales Fantastic

Requirements for University of Chicago

Doctorate Program
Requirements
TOEFL
Listening
Required:26
Reading
Required:26
Writing
Required:26
Speaking
Required:26
Total
Required:104
IELTS
Listening
Required:7
Reading
Required:7
Writing
Required:7
Speaking
Required:7
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree Writing sample Candidate statement
Application Checklist
  • Candidate Statement
  • Transcripts
  • Letters of Recommendation (3)
  • Writing Sample
  • Application Fee
Specialization Notes

Department of Philosophy