I am a scholar of comparative literary and cultural studies whose research focuses on medieval Iberia. I am also an avid hiker whose current research project explores Christian, Jewish, and Islamic ‘medieval’ walking routes in Spain and Portugal, such as the Camino de Santiago, the Ruta del Califato, and Sephardic heritage itineraries. I am interested in the intersections between gender, race, religion, sexuality, place of origin, landscapes and belonging, as well as performance, cultures of fitness, memory studies, heritage tourism, foundational myths and national identity. I seek to promote inclusivity in my teaching, scholarship, and service.

Kirsten E. Kumpf Baele is the Director of the Anne Frank Initiative (AFI) and a Distinguished Associate Professor of Instruction in German at the University of Iowa. Her work centers around human experiences and social justice, as reflected in her research, teaching, and public engagement. Her academic career has consistently been shaped by stories and lived experiences that highlight social inequalities, constraints, and the potential for personal transformation. Research & Publications: Kumpf Baele’s research includes topics such as exophonic writers, the spatial turn in literature, the aesthetics and politics of hair in prewar film, forced adoption practices and control of the female body in Belgian film, crises of masculinity in the military, embodied pedagogy as it connects with service-learning projects, and the limitation of filmic and architectural freedoms in the former GDR. She is co-editor of Engaging Anne Frank and Other Difficult Life Stories (Routledge, forthcoming 2024), and her chapter “Auf Wiedersehen, Soldat: Does a Soldier Ever Truly Return Home” was recently accepted for publication in 2025 by Routledge-Warwick. Public Engagement: She was deeply honored by the selection of her application to plant the 13th Anne Frank sapling on the University of Iowa campus in 2022. In addition to her community-engaged work surrounding Anne Frank and her story, Kumpf Baele has developed programming and/or taught for the Iowa City Public Library’s Teen Center, Theater Cedar Rapids, the Iowa Youth Writing Project, Clear Creek Amana middle- and high schools, Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids, and most recently the UNESCO City of Literature. In 2022, she was awarded the “Outstanding Public Engagement Award” from the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.