Staff profile

I joined the Department in 2018, having previously studied at the Universities of Zagreb (BA) and Warwick (PhD), and held the Thole Research Fellowship at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. I have held visiting fellowships and grants at the Bodleian Libraries' Centre for the Study of the Book, Huntington Library, Durham University (Seedcorn Fund Award), and the Warburg Institute, and given invited talks at a range of European and American institutions.

Research

I work mainly on English literary history, c.1500-1700, with particular interests in allegory, the history of literary criticism, and the work of John Milton. In addition, I have wider interests in the long history of poetics and hermeneutics, and the literary and cultural history of outer space and the cosmological imagination. Besides single-authored research, I am involved in several collaborative projects, teaming up with colleagues in other specializations within English literary history, other fields in the humanities and social sciences, and the creative arts.

Current projects include:

• When Did Space Turn Dark? (Reaktion Books, under contract). Monograph exploring the shift from a bright to a dark universe in the Western cosmological imagination. While other comparable transformations - for example, from a geocentric to a heliocentric, or a bounded to an unbounded, universe - have been extensively studied, the turn from bright to dark space has received only minor notice in premodern literary history, and remains entirely unnoticed beyond this field. The project emerges out of my interest in the work of John Milton but draws on textual and visual evidence from antiquity to the present, offering the first sustained study of the subject.
• Literary Criticism of the English Renaissance, ed. Gavin Alexander, Catherine Bates, Vladimir Brljak, Sarah Knight, and Micha Lazarus, 4 vols (Oxford University Press, under contract). Edition of primary sources in the subject. My contribution focuses on the period c.1605-75: a 'lost' age of English literary thought, typically presented as a dormant interlude between a waning 'Renaissance' and a 'Long Eighteenth Century' rather than a productive epoch in its own right. I have conducted systematic research on the subject since 2017, identifying over a hundred substantial sources, including nearly twenty unpublished works in manuscript. Trebling the corpus collected in previous scholarship, my work recovers this lost age and reassesses its contribution to literary and intellectual history.
• Poetics before Modernity: Literary Theory in the West from Antiquity to the Enlightenment, ed. Vladimir Brljak and Micha Lazarus (Oxford University Press, under contract). Edited collection emerging from the eponymous project, redrawing the map of premodern literary thought across received historical and disciplinary divides.
• Space in Time: From the Heavens to Outer Space, ed. Vladimir Brljak, Veronica della Dora, Stamatina Mastorakou, and John Tresch (under consideration). Edited collection emerging from the eponymous conference (Warburg Institute, 2023), exploring the long and global cultural history of the space beyond Earth, from the ancient heavens to modern outer space.

I am co-founder of 'Poetics before Modernity' (2016-), a collaborative project exploring the history of early literary thought, which I convene with Micha Lazarus and an international team of colleagues. The project organizes events in the field and publishes Sources in Early Poetics (Brill), on which I serve as General Editor.

As Secondary Proposer, I am part of the COST Action 'Futures-oriented Governance of Outer Space: Towards Peace, Equity, and Environmental Integrity (FOGOS)' (2024-), collaborating with a team led by Florian Rabitz, ranging across the human and social sciences.

I have also published on various other topics: Old English poetry; references to religious doctrine and controversy in Shakespeare's work; the formation of the Faust legend; modern authors drawing on 'medieval' sources and traditions (Borges, Tolkien).

Teaching

I convene What Is Literature? Literary Thought from Antiquity to Modernity (L2), 'Paradise Lost' as Science Fiction (L3), and Early Modern Science Fiction (MA, forthcoming 2024-25); tutor on Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature (L2); lecture across the pre-1900 syllabus (L1-3); and supervise BA, MA and PhD dissertations on a wide range of topics.

Doctoral Supervision and Postdoctoral Mentorship

I welcome enquiries from prospective doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers interested in topics indicated above.

• 2023: Discretionary Award, Durham University:
• 2023: Space in Time: From the Heavens to Outer Space: international conference, Warburg Institute, 12, 13, and 20 Oct 2024; co-organized with Veronica della Dora, Stamatina Mastorakou, and John Tresch
• 2022: Discretionary Award, Durham University:
• 2022: Reading Milton's Universe: invited talk at the Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, University of York, 5 Dec 2022
• 2022: When Did Space Turn Dark?: invited talk, Work in Progress Seminar, Warburg Institute
• 2022: Frances A. Yates Long-Term Fellowship, Warburg Institute: research fellowship
• 2022: Seedcorn Fund Award, Durham University: research grant
• 2021: Sources in Early Poetics: General Editor of edition and translation series with Brill
• 2021: When Did Space Turn Dark?: invited talk at NYU Space Talks, New York University, 23 Sep 2021
• 2021: Poetics among the Disciplines: panel at Scientiae, University of Amsterdam, 9-12 Jun 2021; co-organizer and co-chair for Poetics before Modernity project with Bryan Brazeau and Micha Lazarus
• 2020: From Everyman to Hamlet: A Distant Reading: invited talk at the Centre for Reformation and Early Modern Studies Seminar, University of Birmingham, 29 Jan 2020
• 2018: Dead Water in English Criticism: Tradition and Innovation from Bacon to Dryden: invited talk at STVDIO, Centre for the Study of the Renaissance, University of Warwick, 9 Oct 2018
• 2018: Inventing Renaissance Poetics: Modernity, Allegory, and the History of Literary Theory: invited talk at the Workshop in Poetics, Stanford University, 10 Apr 2018
• 2018: Mayers Fellowship, Huntington Library: research fellowship
• 2017: Poetics before Modernity Conference 2017: international conference, CRASSH, University of Cambridge, 14-15 Dec 2017; co-organized with Micha Lazarus
• 2017: Sassoon Visiting Fellowship, Centre for the Study of the Book, Bodleian Libraries: research fellowship
• 2016: Poetics before Modernity: collaborative project on the history of premodern literary thought in the; co-founded with Micha Lazarus in 2016 and co-convened with Dr Lazarus and an international team of colleagues
• 2016: Poetics before Modernity: international seminar series, Trinity College, Cambridge, 2016-17; co-organized with Micha Lazarus
• 2016: Allegorical Poetics in England after 1600: Fishing in the Dead Water: invited talk at the Renaissance Graduate Seminar, Faculty of English, University of Cambridge, 9 Feb 2016
• 2016: Hamlet in 1603: series of three public lectures - 'Hamlet in Heaven', 'Hamlet in Purgatory', and 'Hamlet in Hell' - at the invitation of the Shakespeare Lives project, hosted by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, 11-13 Apr 2016
• 2015: The Review of English Studies Essay Prize: for the article 'The Satanic or: Milton and Protestant Anti-Allegorism', published in The Review of English Studies, n.s., 66 (2015): 403-22
• 2015: Rethinking Allegory', Warburg Institute: international conference, Warburg Institute, 30 Oct 2015; co-organized with Karen Lang and Peter Mack
• 2015: Thole Research Fellowship, Trinity Hall, Cambridge: research fellowship
• 2013: Allegory Studies?: international conference, University of Warwick, 7 Nov 2013

Book review

• Brljak, V. (2020). Andrew Escobedo, Volition's Face: Personification and the Will in Renaissance Literature (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2017). Modern Philology: Critical and Historical Studies in Literature, Medieval through Contemporary, 117(3), E173-E180. https://doi.org/10.1086/707144
• Brljak, V. (2019). Donovan Sherman, Second Death: Theatricalities of the Soul in Shakespeare's Drama (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2016). Shakespeare Quarterly, 70(1), 85-88. https://doi.org/10.1093/sq/quz004

Chapter in book

• Brljak, V. (in press). The Defence of Poesy. In The Oxford Handbook of Philip Sidney. Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Brljak, V. (in press). Allegory, 'Allegory', and _Allegory_: Ends and Beginnings, c.1500-1700'. In D. Parry (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Allegory. Oxford University Press
• Brljak, V. (2022). Introduction: Allegory Past and Present. In V. Brljak (Ed.), Allegory Studies: Contemporary Perspectives (1-40). Routledge
• Brljak, V. (2020). Inventing a Renaissance: Modernity, Allegory, and the History of Literary Theory. In B. Brazeau (Ed.), The reception of Aristotle's Poetics in the Italian Renaissance and beyond : new directions in criticism (60-93). Bloomsbury
• Brljak, V. (2012). Allegorical Readings of Paradise Lost. In G. Ittzes, & M. Peti (Eds.), Milton through the Centuries. Karoli Gaspar University of the Reformed Church in Hungary; L'Harmattan

Edited book

• Brljak, V., & Lazarus, M. (Eds.). Poetics before Modernity: Literary Theory in the West from Antiquity to 1700. Oxford University Press
• Brljak, V. (Ed.). (2022). Allegory Studies: Contemporary Perspectives. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003183341
• Brljak, V., & Lazarus, M. (Eds.). (2021). Artes poeticae: Formations and Transformations, 1500-1650 [Special Issue: Classical Receptions Journal, 13 (1)]. Oxford University Press

Journal Article

• Brljak, V. The Lutheran 'Faustus' in Foxe's Acts and Monuments
• Brljak, V. (in press). Using and Abusing Poetry and Music: Gosson's School, Sidney's Defence, and Gwinne's Oration. Sidney Journal,
• Brljak, V. (2021). Borges against the Vikings: Early Writings on Old Germanic Literature and History, 1932-46. Old English newsletter, 47(1),
• Brljak, V., & Lazarus, M. (2021). Introduction: Poetics as Classical Reception. Classical Receptions Journal, 13(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1093/crj/claa028
• Brljak, V. (2018). Hamlet and the Soul-Sleepers. Reformation & Renaissance Review, 20(3), 187-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/14622459.2018.1498056
• Brljak, V. (2017). The Age of Allegory. Studies in philology, 114(4), 697-719. https://doi.org/10.1353/sip.2017.0025
• Brljak, V. (2017). Notes on the Religious Element in Hamlet. Notes & Queries, 64(2), 274-278. https://doi.org/10.1093/notesj/gjx039
• Brljak, V. (2015). The Satanic 'or': Milton and Protestant Anti-Allegorism. The Review of English Studies, 66(275), 403-422. https://doi.org/10.1093/res/hgv011
• Brljak, V. (2015). Early Comments on Milton's Anti-Trinitarianism. Milton Quarterly, 49(1), 44-50. https://doi.org/10.1111/milt.12117
• Brljak, V. (2011). Hamlet and Lameth. Notes & Queries, 58(2),
• Brljak, V. (2011). Unediting Deor. Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, 112(3), 297-321
• Brljak, V. (2011). Borges and the North. Studies in medievalism, 20, 99-128
• Brljak, V. (2010). An Allusion to Purgatory in Hamlet. Notes & Queries, 57(3),

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

• Brljak, V. (2018). Personification and Allegory: Selves and Signs. [[Media unknown]]

Presentation

• Brljak, V. (2020, December). Milton and the Space Age: Premodern Universes and Modern Readers. Paper presented at British Milton Seminar, University of Birmingham
• Brljak, V. (2022, December). Reading Milton's Universe. Paper presented at Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, University of York
• Brljak, V. (2020, December). From Everyman to Hamlet: A Distant Reading. Paper presented at Centre for Reformation and Early Modern Studies Seminar., University of Birmingham
• Brljak, V. (2024, April). Milton’s Paradise Lost and the Victorian Cosmological Imagination: The Case of James Gall (1808-1895). Paper presented at International Conference of Three Societies on Literature and Science (BSLS, CoSciLit, and SLSAeu), University of Birmingham
• Brljak, V. (2024, June). Dark Space in NewSpace: Jeff Bezos' 'Great Inversion', William Shatner's 'Black Ugliness', and the History of the Cosmological Imagination. Paper presented at The Spirit of Space Exploration in China and the West, Duke Kunshan University
• Brljak, V. (2021, December). When Did Space Turn Dark?. Paper presented at NYU Space Talks, New York University
• Brljak, V. (2022, December). When Did Space Turn Dark?. Paper presented at Work in Progress Seminar, The Warburg Institute
• Brljak, V. (2013, December). The Age of Allegory: A Medievalist Myth and Its Legacy. Paper presented at The Middle Ages in the Modern World, University of St Andrews
• Brljak, V. (2019, December). Milton and the Space Age: Premodern Universes and Modern Readers. Paper presented at 12th International Milton Symposium, Strasbourg
• Brljak, V. (2018, December). Inventing Renaissance Poetics: Modernity, Allegory, and the History of Literary Theory. Paper presented at Workshop in Poetics, Stanford University
• Brljak, V. (2018, December). Roundtable participant, 'What Now for Allegory Studies?'. Paper presented at 64th Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, New Orleans
• Brljak, V. (2018, December). Dead Water in English Criticism: Tradition and Innovation from Bacon to Dryden. Paper presented at STVDIO, Centre for the Study of the Renaissance, University of Warwick
• Brljak, V. (2018, December). Classical Myth in English Poetics after 1600. Paper presented at 8th Biennial Conference of the Society for Renaissance Studies, University of Sheffield
• Brljak, V. (2017, December). The Critical Fantasies of Philip Kinder. Paper presented at 63rd Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, Chicago
• Brljak, V. (2016, December). Allegorical Poetics in England after 1600: Fishing in the Dead Water. Paper presented at Renaissance Graduate Seminar, Faculty of English, University of Cambridge
• Brljak, V. (2016, December). (Neo)allegory and (Anti)modernity. Paper presented at Redefining Allegory, Queen Mary University of London
• Brljak, V. (2016, December). Hamlet in 1603 (series of three public lectures: 'Hamlet in Heaven', 'Hamlet in Purgatory', 'Hamlet in Hell'). Paper presented at Shakespeare Lives, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb
• Brljak, V. (2015, December). '[S]ome shadowe of satisfaction': Bacon's Poetics Revisited. Paper presented at 61st Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, Humboldt University, Berlin
• Brljak, V. (2014, December). Satan's Allegories and Milton's Epics. Paper presented at 60th Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, New York
• Brljak, V. (2014, December). '[T]he causes and obiects of delectation': An Unpublished Essay on Poetic Theory by Kenelm Digby. Paper presented at 6th Biennial Conference of the Society for Renaissance Studies, University of Southampton
• Brljak, V. (2013, December). Allegory and Modernity in English Poetics, c.1570-1630: Locations and Dislocations. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the American Comparative Literature Association, University of Toronto
• Brljak, V. (2012, December). The Mouth of Hell: Hamlet, 1.5.2-91. Paper presented at Arts Faculty Seminar, University of Warwick