Vanja Polić

Assoc. Prof. Vanja Polić holds a PhD in English from the University of Zagreb (2009) and has been affiliated with the Department of English since 2001. Her academic trajectory includes roles as Lecturer (2009–2012), Assistant Professor (2013–2019), and currently Associate Professor (2019–present). She specializes in Canadian literature and culture, British literature, postcolonial studies, and the history of the novel.

Her education includes a B.A. in English and Italian (2001) and an Associate B.A. in Portuguese Studies (2002), both from the University of Zagreb. She has held significant grants and fellowships, including the Charles Redd Center Fellowship (BYU, 2018), University of Calgary Research Grants (2016/2011), and CEEPUS mobility grants (2013/2010).

Her research focuses on Canadian-Western cultural intersections, postcolonial narratives, and genre literature. Notable publications include Istinito, prirodno, različito (2013) and chapters on Canadian pedagogy and postmemory in displacement. She actively promotes Canadian studies through organizing conferences like the 2015 CEACS Triennial and serves on the Canadian Literature editorial board.

• Awarded Merit Award (2017) for Canada-Croatia academic ties
• Organized 10+ international guest lectures featuring prominent Canadian authors
• President of the Croatian-Canadian Academic Society (2013–2020)

Her teaching spans undergraduate/graduate courses on Canadian literature, postmodern British texts, and multiculturalism in Indigenous contexts. She frequently lectures internationally, including at BYU, University of Calgary, and Masaryk University.