Irene Cagneau

Irene Cagneau is an Associate Professor in German Studies at the Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France (UPHF), specifically within the Institut Sociétés et Humanités (ISH) and the Laboratoire de Recherche Sociétés & Humanités (LARSH). She serves as Deputy Director of the CRISS (Centre de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Sciences de la Société) and is an elected member of UPHF's documentary council (2022-2026). Additionally, she is the pedagogical co-responsible for the Master's program in History with a focus on "History and Cultural Valorization Internationally" and acts as an ERASMUS and France Education International reference person for German-speaking countries.

• Doctorate in German Studies from Université Paris 3 - Sorbonne Nouvelle (2008)
• Agrégation in German (1999)
• Extensive teaching experience since 1999 in various educational institutions

Cagneau's research centers on the cultural, social, and institutional discourses surrounding sexuality in Germany and Austria between 1880-1914, with particular attention to Viennese and Berlin contexts. She investigates cultural circulations between France and Austria from 1800-1938, focusing on translation, literature, arts, press, and periodicals. Her work also examines screen adaptations of German-language literary works and explores the notion of avant-garde in German, Austrian, and French interwar journals. Her methodological approach combines textual analysis with historical contextualization, often drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives that bridge literary studies, cultural history, and urban studies.

Cagneau's scholarly output reveals consistent engagement with German-French cultural exchanges across historical periods. Her publications demonstrate expertise in literary translation studies, with particular focus on mediators between French and German cultures. She has made significant contributions to understanding avant-garde movements in Germanophone literature, urban fragmentation in European cities, and the representation of sexuality in early 20th-century intellectual circles. Her work often examines how cultural products move across linguistic and national boundaries, with attention to the roles of translators and other cultural mediators.

Cagneau has supervised approximately 30 master's theses between 2012 and 2020, with topics ranging from cultural heritage conservation to Franco-German relations in song. She serves on editorial boards including the journal Germanica and is an active member of scholarly societies such as the Société Goethe de France and the Association des Germanistes de l'Enseignement Supérieur (AGES).

Her research projects frequently involve international collaboration, as evidenced by her co-edited volumes with scholars from institutions across France and Europe. She has particular expertise in examining urban divisions through interdisciplinary lenses, connecting literary analysis with urban geography and cultural memory studies.