Martin Brückner

Martin Brückner is a Professor of English and Director of the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture at the University of Delaware. His work bridges American literature, material culture studies, and the history of cartography. He holds academic appointments in the Department of English and the Center for Material Culture Studies. His research focuses on early American literature (pre-1900), cartography, literary materialism, and digital humanities.

Brückner’s major publications include *The Social Life of Maps in America, 1750-1860* (2017) and *The Geographic Revolution in Early America* (2006), both award-winning studies of cartography’s cultural impact. He co-edits the *Material Culture Perspectives* book series and directs the digital humanities project *ThingStor*, a database connecting objects to literature and art. His grants include support from the Mellon Foundation, NEH, and the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies.

Research interests span maps, print culture, digital humanities, and object-driven analysis. Recent articles analyze map varnish’s social chemistry and material gaps in cartographic exhibitions. Awards include UD’s Excellence in Scholarship (2018) and the Society of Early Americanists Essay Prize (2007).

Brückner also served as Co-Director of the Delaware Public Humanities Institute and curated Winterthur Museum’s *Common Destinations: Maps in the American Experience* (2013–2014). His work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to material culture and spatial studies.