Birgit Van Puymbroeck

Birgit Van Puymbroeck is an Assistant Professor in Literature in English and Research Methodology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) on a tenure-track position. She serves as Research Leader at the Centre for Literary and Intermedial Crossings and the Linguistics and Literary Studies department. Her work focuses on late 19th- and 20th-century literature, transnational approaches, print culture, and literary radio studies.

• University: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
• Department: Linguistics and Literary Studies
• Research Centers: Centre for Literary and Intermedial Crossings

Her research interests include modernist literature, queer intellectual histories (e.g., Belgian/French/Netherlands collaborations pre-1910), intermedial radio studies (1945–2020), and the intersection of bureaucracy and modernist writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has led projects on literary radio biographies, transnational periodical networks, and archival explorations of modernist poetry.

Recent publications analyze Nancy Cunard’s poetic imitations, Henry Reed’s radio dramatization techniques, and transnational print cultures. Her 2024 ESPRit Prize recognized collaborative work on World War I-era literary journals.

• Key Projects:
  • FWOTM1112: Queer Intellectual Networks (2022–2025)
  • FWOAL1050: Radio Biographies (2022–2025)
  • FWOTM1097: Modernism and Bureaucracy in Sub-Saharan Africa (2022–2024)

She has supervised 4 academic works and actively participates in conferences, workshops, and editorial roles (e.g., PMLA advisory). Her media engagements include public lectures on interwar cultural history and digital storytelling.