Rebecca Birrell

Rebecca Birrell is a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow in the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews. Her research examines intersections of religious thought and queer possibility in twentieth-century visual and material culture.

The fellowship project 'Heretical Acts: Religious Thought and Queer Possibility in 20th Century Culture' explores unconventional religious expressions and their relationship to queer identities in modern cultural production. Research methodologies bridge art history, religious studies, and queer theory.

Her work investigates how dissident religious practices have created spaces for non-normative identities and expressions throughout the twentieth century. The project contributes to emerging scholarship at the intersection of spirituality, sexuality, and cultural representation.