Gabriele Rippl

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Rippl is a Full Professor and Chair of Literatures in English/North American Literature and Culture at the University of Bern, Switzerland, where she has served as Director of the Department of English since 2005. She previously held professorial positions at the University of Göttingen (2003-2005), and lecturing positions at the Universities of Freiburg, Zurich, Bern, Tübingen, and Bielefeld. Her extensive administrative experience includes serving as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities (2021-2023), Vice-Dean (2019-2021), and President of the Collegium generale (2007-2015) at the University of Bern.

Her educational background includes a 'Habilitation' at the University of Constance (2002), a PhD in English and American Studies from the same institution (1995), and a DFG doctoral grant at the postgraduate school 'Theory of Literature and Communication' (1989-1995). She has held numerous prestigious fellowships including at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (2002), the University of Wales (2003), UCLA (2015), and the Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities Morphomata Kolleg, Cologne (2017).

• Current Research Focus: Cultural Sustainability
• Key Area: Intermediality (text-picture relationships, particularly ekphrasis and eco-ekphrasis)
• Specialization: Anglophone world literatures across historical periods
• Theoretical Framework: Literary theory with emphasis on postcolonial and transcultural perspectives
• Additional Interests: Autobiography and life writing, literature and anthropology, seriality studies

Prof. Rippl's recent publications demonstrate a clear trajectory toward environmental humanities, particularly through the lens of eco-ekphrasis, while maintaining her longstanding expertise in intermedial studies. Her work bridges literary analysis with broader cultural, ecological, and sustainability concerns, reflecting an increasingly interdisciplinary approach that connects literary studies with environmental science and cultural sustainability frameworks. The publications reveal a sophisticated integration of visual culture studies with contemporary ecological concerns, particularly in how literary texts represent and engage with environmental imperatives.

• 2020-present: Member and President of Specialised Committee Careers, Swiss National Research Council
• 2017: Fellowship at Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities Morphomata Kolleg, Cologne
• 2015: Visiting Scholarship at UCLA supported by SNSF
• 2014-present: Member of AcademiaNet – European Expert Database of Outstanding Female Academics
• 2008: Fellowship at University of Western Ontario

As an advisor, Prof. Rippl has supervised numerous doctoral candidates working on diverse topics including world literature, intermediality, postcolonial studies, and environmental humanities. Her current research projects include 'Anglophone Life Writing Today: Transcultural Figurations – Intermedial Constellations,' 'Mediating the Ecological Imperative: Modes and Formats of Engagement,' and interdisciplinary work on 'Cultural Sustainability.' She leads the 'Der ökologische Imperative' SNSF Sinergia project (2021-2024), which brings together scholars from English studies, art history, and social anthropology. She also serves on multiple Swiss National Science Foundation committees, demonstrating significant influence in national research policy.

Prof. Rippl directs the interdisciplinary Walter-Benjamin-Kolleg research platform 'Auto_Bio_Graphie,' collaborating with Dance Studies, Spanish Literature, and Visual Anthropology. She previously led the SNF Doctoral research group on 'Seriality and Intermediality in Graphic Novels' and the project 'Cosmopolitanism and Identity in Contemporary Indian Literatures in English.' Her editorial work includes the peer-reviewed journal Anglia and the Anglia Book Series, where she has published extensively on intermediality, cultural sustainability, and world literatures.