Joanna Rzepa

Dr. Joanna Rzepa is a Senior Lecturer in Literature at the University of Essex's Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies. A transnational comparatist and literary historian, she specializes in Holocaust writing, translation history, and literary modernism. Her current Leverhulme Trust-funded project examines Holocaust testimony dissemination through Polish-English translation networks.

• PhD in English and Comparative Literary Studies from University of Warwick
• Former Thomas Brown Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin
• Alumni of Trinity Long Room Hub and University of Warwick's Institute of Advanced Study

Her research bridges Holocaust studies, publishing history, and translation studies, focusing on:

• Transnational dissemination of survivor narratives
• Modernist theological intersections
• Book history under authoritarian regimes
• Conflict-era translation practices
• Cultural memory preservation
• Polish literary modernism

Recent publications examine:

• Polish literature reception in post-global academia (2024)
• Translation politics in Polish-English wartime networks
• Modernist responses to theological crises
• St. Francis reimaginings in Wittlin's work

Scientific Recognition:

• Recipient of Martha Cheung Award for Translation Studies (2020)
• Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship recipient (2025-26)

Grant Funding:

• Leverhulme Trust grant for "Holocaust in Translation" project

Teaching Expertise:

• Criticism: Practice and Theory
• Law and Literature
• Independent Literature Project
• Dissertation supervision
• Transnational literature-translation relations
• Holocaust representation
• Creative writing supervision