In September 2025, Svenja Guhr (she/her) began her position as a Bellwether Postdoctoral Scholar, working alongside School of Information Professor David Bamman. We spoke to Guhr about her current research, what she’s been up to, and her interests outside of her work.
Before joining the School of Information, what were you working on? What drew you to the I School and UC Berkeley?
Prior to joining the I School, I was a full-time researcher at the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany (which, for those who don’t know, is the most beautiful city in the world), working within the fortext lab under Prof. Evelyn Gius. My academic journey has been quite a European tour: I studied German, French, and European Law, as well as Romance languages and computational linguistics, across six different universities in Germany, France, Italy, and the UK. Eventually, I found my niche in Digital Humanities, completing my Ph.D. in German Studies with a specialization in Computational Literary Studies.
In 2022, I initiated a collaboration with the Stanford Literary Lab, which brought me to the Bay Area as a Visiting Scholar during my term breaks in Germany. I quickly fell in love with the beauty of the Bay. My first “spark” for Berkeley specifically was in November 2023, when I accompanied Prof. Gius for her Cultural Analytics talk at the I School. I was struck by the exciting research and the heterogeneity of the student community. When I saw the Bellwether Postdoctoral Scholar opening, I knew I had to apply to expand my research horizons. It has been the best decision ever.
What are you most looking forward to about being here?
I am most excited about collaborating with Prof. David Bamman and his research group, as well as supporting the incredibly diverse student community here. Together with Prof. Tim Tangherlini, I’ve recently started leading CARL (the Cultural Analytics Research Lab), which is co-sponsored by the Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS) AI Futures Lab and the I School Bellwether Fund. It has been such a joy to work with engaged students who share my enthusiasm for Cultural Analytics and the Computational Humanities. Interested students are always welcome to join!
Tell us about your current research. What problems are you most excited to tackle in this role?
My work is rooted in computational literary studies. In my upcoming book, I focus on operationalizing literary phenomena, essentially making abstract concepts like “sound” and “loudness” systematically recognizable and measurable by machines to enable distant reading.
Currently, I’m supervising a brilliant group of URAP students on a project titled “Measuring Suspense in Fiction.” We are digging into deep discussions to operationalize “suspense,” going beyond the tropes of gothic and horror, looking at suspense more globally within American and British short fiction. Building this project from scratch with such talented students is exactly the kind of work I find most rewarding.
What’s a fun fact people may not know about you?
I might be the most “stereotypical” German at the I School — I’m originally from rural northwestern Germany and am a European at heart. In my free time, I love to travel and sing in choirs. I’m also a polyglot with a passion for languages; I recently started an introductory Polish class here at UC Berkeley, which is my 11th European language (though I am only fluent in four). Additionally, I’m a dedicated supporter of my regional soccer club back home; I still keep a season ticket waiting for me in Germany!
What are you reading or watching right now?
I just finished Madame Curie, a biography of Marie Curie written by her daughter, Eve. I’m a total “fangirl” of hers! Now I’m facing the classic researcher’s dilemma: my “to-read” pile is massive. I usually alternate between French, English, German, and Italian literature, with a particular fondness for the late 19th and 20th centuries.
