Dr. Mark Chinca

Professor

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Biography

Mark Chinca studies medieval literature with a comparative focus on German, Romance, and Latin. His primary research interests are rhetoric, poetics, and metaphor, particularly in relation to literature addressing death and dying in medieval and early modern Europe. He has directed the Kaiserchronik project from 2012 to 2018, in collaboration with teams from Cambridge, Marburg, and Heidelberg, to produce a digital edition of vernacular verse chronicles and their manuscript versions. His completed projects include 'Meditating Death' (2020), which examines how devotional practice influenced written textuality during the Protestant Reformation, and 'Literary Beginnings in the European Middle Ages' (2022), a collective literary history that investigates how vernacular textual cultures initiated the processes of consolidation and institutionalization, allowing for meaningful discussions of 'literature' in relation to language. Mark is currently holding a Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust, focusing on the formation of medieval German literature, exploring the cumulative beginnings of traditions in textual practices across the German-speaking world from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries.

Research Interests

Experience

Professor

— 2026-09-30

University of Cambridge • Cambridge, ENG

Professor in Medieval German Comparative Literature.

Requirements for University of Cambridge

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.7
IELTS
Listening
Required:7
Reading
Required:7
Writing
Required:7
Speaking
Required:7
Overall
Required:7.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:25
Reading
Required:25
Writing
Required:25
Speaking
Required:25
Total
Required:110
Prerequisites
UK Bachelor's Degree with good Upper Second Class Honours or international equivalent Background in international relations, politics, law, economics, security or history is a definite asset
Application Checklist
  • Two academic references
  • Official transcripts
  • CV/Resume
  • Personal statement (approx 500 words)
  • Research proposal (1-2 pages/500 words)
  • Application fee (£50)
Specialization Notes

Standard postgraduate requirements for Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) and related humanities departments.