Birgit M. Kaiser

Birgit M. Kaiser is a Professor of Comparative Literature at Utrecht University since 2024. Her research focuses on literature as poetic knowledge production, examining intersections of aesthetics, affect, postcolonialism, and feminist new materialism across English, French, and German literatures from the 19th to 21st centuries.

• Education: PhD in Comparative Literature (NYU, 2007), MA in Sociology (Bielefeld University, 1999), BA in Social Sciences (Ruhr-University Bochum, 1993)
• Research Interests: Relational subjectivity, post/decolonial critique, diffractive methodologies, un/translatability, and rethinking critique in the Anthropocene.

Key Collaborations: Co-founder of the Terra Critica network (2012–present), coordinator of the UU Critical Pathways research community (2022–present), and supervisor in the EU-HORIZON EUTERPE Doctoral Network (2022–2026). Her publications span monographs, edited volumes, and articles in journals like Cambridge Journal of Postcolonial Literary Inquiry, Parallax, and Textual Practice. Her recent work emphasizes just sustainability and transnational women’s writing.

Publications: 15 articles reflect her expertise in postcolonial theory, feminist materialism, and diffractive methods, with keywords ranging from Deleuze studies to planetary ethics. Sub-fields include anti-narcissistic subjectivity, ec(h)ological critique, and transcultural aesthetics.