Duytschaever was born in Merksem in 1944. He studied Germanic philology at the Ghent University He obtained his PhD at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He teached in Dutch literature at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Indiana University in the United States. He started working at the University Institution Antwerp in 1972 where he became professor in the English literature. He was guest professor at the University of California, Berkeley in 1977 and at the University of Georgia in 1985. Duytschaever was coordinator of the European Studies Program for American students. Duytschaever also ensured cooperation with the "Faculté des Lettres" of the university in the Moroccan capital Rabat.