Dr. Ginette Verstraete

Biography

Ginette Verstraete is a Visiting Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam specializing in comparative arts and media. She took early retirement in November 2024 after a distinguished career at the university, where she served as Head of the Department of Arts & Culture and Director of Educational Committees. Before joining VU in 2006, she held the Simone de Beauvoir Chair of Contemporary Intellectual History at the University of Amsterdam and served as an Assistant Professor at Maastricht University. Verstraete holds two Master's degrees, one in English and Dutch from Antwerp University and another in Anglo-Irish Studies from University College Dublin, as well as a PhD in Comparative Literature from SUNY Buffalo. Her research interests encompass literary theory, media cultural theory, and mobile cultures, with published works on Anglo-Irish literature, German Romanticism, and cultural studies. At VU, she has directed several Master's programs, including MA in Design Cultures and MA in Comparative Arts Media Studies. Verstraete has received numerous grants from prestigious institutions including the Fulbright Foundation and the Dutch Research Council, and she has been involved in various international academic committees and jury panels.

Research Interests