Sebastian Tränkle studied Philosophy, Comparative Literature and Cultural History in Leipzig and Berkeley. He was awarded his MA from Leipzig University for a thesis on Adorno's Critique of Images and his PhD (2019) from Freie Universität Berlin for a dissertation on Philosophical Critique of Language after Adorno and Blumenberg (summa cum laude; awarded the Tiburtius Preis der Berliner Hochschulen). He was visiting scholar at the School of Visual Arts in New York and fellow at the Forschungsinstitut für Philosophie Hannover. He received research grants from Heinrich-Böll-Foundation, Hans-Böckler-Foundation, Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach and DAAD.
