Fritz Breithaupt
Fritz Breithaupt works at the intersection of literature and the cognitive sciences, studying empathy, narrative thinking, transformative experience, and intellectual history. He is Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the Department of Francophone, Italian and Germanic Studies, affiliated with MindCORE and the graduate faculty in Psychology. After earning his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University (1997) and nearly three decades at Indiana University Bloomington — where he became Provost Professor and founded the Experimental Humanities Lab — he brought the lab to Penn in 2025. Alongside articles in both the humanities and the sciences, he regularly writes books; his latest are Einmal, Zweimal, Keinmal (Suhrkamp, 2026), The Narrative Brain (Yale University Press, 2025), and The Dark Sides of Empathy (Cornell University Press, 2019). He is a frequent contributor to the press, including NPR, BBC, SRF, Die Zeit, and Philosophie Magazin.
Current members
PhotoMiddle East Technical University, BS Psychology (2020); Sabancı University, MS Psychology (2022). PhD candidate in Cognitive Science and Informatics.
PhotoIndiana University Bloomington, PhD Portuguese (2023). Visiting Assistant Professor at Rhodes College; research on interactive narratives, videogames, and film.
PhotoUtah Valley University, BS Computer Science (2021). PhD candidate in Cognitive Science and Informatics.
PhotoKalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, BTech Computer Science Engineering (2021); Indiana University Bloomington, MS Computational Linguistics (2024). PhD candidate in Cognitive Science and Linguistics.
PhotoDePauw University, BA Psychology and Communication (2023). PhD candidate in Psychology and Cognitive Science.
Victoria Lagrange
Dr. Victoria Lagrange is an Assistant Professor of Game Narrative at Kennesaw State University and Director of the Center for Interactive Media. Her research focuses on interactive digital narratives, transmedia storytelling, game narrative design, empathy, and player reception — with particular interest in how players interpret and respond to story-driven games.
With thanks
The lab's work has always been collective. Across its years — from Bloomington to Philadelphia — students, postdocs, and faculty collaborators across cognitive science, psychology, informatics, and literature have shaped its projects and publications.
PhotoUniversity of Notre Dame, BA English & Spanish (2014), M.Ed Secondary Education (2016). PhD in English Literature, Indiana University Bloomington.
PhotoIndiana University Bloomington, PhD Germanic Studies (2024). Lecturer in the English Department at Indiana University Bloomington.
PhotoMarquette University, PhD Philosophy (1990). Affiliated Faculty in Cognitive Science, Indiana University Bloomington.
PhotoUniversity of Edinburgh, MSc Comparative Literature (2020). PhD in Gender Studies and Comparative Literature, Indiana University Bloomington.
PhotoKnox College, BA Behavioral Neuroscience (2013); Indiana University Bloomington, MS Informatics (2021). PhD in Cognitive Science and Informatics.
The lab over the years
Many students, postdocs, and collaborators were part of the lab across its years at Indiana University Bloomington. With thanks to all of them:
- Connor Baskin
- Danni Boylan
- Cam Chambers
- Vanessa Denny
- Charles Exdell
- Kevin Gardner
- Yameen Hameed
- Andrew Hamilton
- Tobias Hermans
- Milo Murphy Hicks
- Ben Hiskes
- Gwynneth Hurley
- Will Jettinghoff
- Binyan Li
- Lauren Lu
- Sophia Muston
- Denizhan Pak
- Kara Raiteri
- Elizabeth Ryba
- Eleanor B. Schille-Hudson
- Margaret Schnabel
- Amy Scobey
- Maria Triantafyllopoulos
- Philipp Weber
- Sarah Whaley
Any team member can lead a project
The lab is a creative place with many different projects and people from many fields, and we employ a wide range of methods. We all want to enjoy what we do. If you want to find out more, contact us — or join us.
Get in touch