Research Centre for Humanities

Assist. prof. dr. Ivana Zajc

FOTO_ZA_SPLET_IZ


Dr. Ivana Zajc researches the fields of digital humanities, literary theory, narratology, literature didactics, and the history of emotions.

Research Areas and Keywords:
Literature, Digital Humanities, Narratology, History of Emotions, Literature Didactics

Selected Publications:

  • MIHURKO, Katja, ZAJC, Ivana, ILIN, Darko, MARINKOVIĆ, Mila. Network Analyses in the Electronic Collection Pisma: Metadata and Semantic Connections of Vocabulary. Comparative Literature. Aug. 2024, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 31–44.
  • ZAJC, Ivana. Analysis of 90 Slovene Novels and the Works of Ivan Cankar Using Computational Stylometry.Comparative Literature. Aug. 2024, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 113–126.
  • ZAJC, Ivana. Becoming a Woman Writer: Self-representations in the Letters of Women Writers of the Slovene Moderna. Literarna misʺl. 2023, vol. 66, no. 2.
  • ZAJC, Ivana. Scoring of Essays in L1 in the Secondary School-Leaving Exam. Pedagoška obzorja: Journal for Didactics and Methodology. 2023, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 19–31.
  • ZAJC, Ivana. What is Literary Competence and How Do We Assess It with the Matura Essay. Nova Gorica: University Press, 2023.
  • ZAJC, Ivana, PURG, Peter. Digital Humanities and Literature. Nova Gorica: University Press, 2023.

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Ivana Zajc holds a PhD in Literary Studies from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. She is the principal investigator of the ARIS research project Shapes of Shame in Slovene Literature (J6-60113). She has also participated in other ARIS projects, including Sexual Desire in Slovenian Women’s Writing (1890–1940) in a Transnational Perspective (N6-0322), Strengthening a (Socio)constructivist Approach in Slovenian Border Regions for Primary Neighbouring Language Teaching and Learning with Co-constructed Extension and Evaluation of the CoBLaLT Model (J6-3132), Transformations of Intimacy in the Literary Discourse of the Slovene Moderna (J6-3134), and the ARIS programme Historical Interpretations of the 20th Century.

She actively participates in international initiatives, such as COST Action Distant Reading for European Literary History and the CEEPUS Summer School, focusing on digital humanities, gender studies, and literary analysis. She combines computational and corpus-based methods with traditional literary analysis. She is the author of monographs, scientific articles, and contributions to international symposia, and works as an editor and organizer of scholarly events.

At the University of Nova Gorica, she teaches a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, including Academic Writing, Digital Humanities, Literature and Emotions, Critical Writing in Arts, and Contemporary Literary Theories. Previously, she worked as a journalist at RTV Slovenia and completed a program at its Centre for Speech Culture. Her current work integrates literary studies, digital humanities, and didactic research with experience in interdisciplinary projects, international collaboration, and academic event organization.

Leadership Roles
Principal Investigator of the ARIS basic research project Shapes of Shame in Slovene Literature (J6-60113) (2025–2027).

Membership in Expert Juries

  • Jury member for the Tantadruj Theatre Award (2019–2021);
  • jury member for the international drama award Words Beyond – Translating Borders (2024);
  • artistic committee of the Primorska Summer Festival (since 2021).

ARIS Projects

ARIS Programme
Historical Interpretations of the 20th Century.

Supervision of Student Projects
Innovative Student Projects in a Research Environment (INSPIRO) at the University of Nova Gorica (2025).

Awards and Recognitions:

ARIS Excellence in Science Award for the scholarly monograph Ljubim lepa pisma: dopisovanja avtoric slovenske moderne (Katja Mihurko, Primož Mlačnik, Ivana Zajc, Darko Ilin, Anna Bodrova)

Student Council Award of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana