Irmtraud Huber studied Comparative Literature, English Literature and Theatre Studies in Munich, earning her degree in 2008 with a thesis on myth in 20^th century women writings. Since 2008 she has been teaching as a lecturer of English Literature at the University of Berne. She is currently completing her PhD on reconstructive uses of the fantastic in contemporary literature. In 2011/12 she spent 6 months as a visiting scholar at Columbia University, New York, on a scholarship from the Swiss National Science Foundation. She is a member of the GS@IASH Berne and the Schweizerische Studienstiftung.