Kathleen Caenen is an instructor of French and Dutch at the Brussels School of Governance. She teaches both languages at levels A1-C1 and also teaches a number of French courses for specific purposes, such as Business French, French for International Affairs and Legal French. She holds a Master Degree (cum laude) in Romance Philology, French and Spanish Literature and Linguistics from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and a BA in Law from the Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix in Namur. Teaching at Vesalius College since 2008, she has been a visiting professor on the Drew University Brussels Program and held the position of Resident Director for the BCA Study Abroad Program in Brussels. Kathleen also held the resident directorship of the Brussels based Internships in Francophone Europe/ Institute for Field Education - (IFE) Programme. Moreover, she worked as an editor for the Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie, in the Parliament of the Brussels Capital Region. Currently she is a guest professor in the Bachelor of Business and Marketing programme at Odisee University College/ KULeuven, where she teaches both Business French and Business coaching, but also purpose built French communication courses at all levels CEFRL.
Kathleen is working on her Ph.D thesis in Belgian Francophone Literature and Women Studies: “ L’évolution de l’émanicpation de la femme en droit belge, quels liens et quelles interactions avec l’image de la femme dans les oeuvres romanesques de Neel Doff, Marie Gevers, Suzanne Lilar, Lilane Wouters et Eliza Brune” under the supervision of Prof. David Gullentops at the VUB, within the framework of the Centre for Literary and Intermedial Crossings. Her research interests are in the field of Belgian Francophone literature and female authorship. Her research focuses mostly on XIX and XX century female writers, the image of womanhood they portray in both fictional and autobiographical novels, and the possible connections with the legal emancipation of women under Belgian law.