I am a writer, scholar, and educator, currently appointed as Associated Professor of American Studies at the University of Klagenfurt.

As the author of three academic books, Growing Hope (2025), Affective Ecologies (2017), and Cosmopolitan Minds (2014), and the (co-)editor of several books and journal issues, my trans- and interdisciplinary research explores contemporary environmental culture with input from the social sciences and a focus on affect and emotion. I have a special interest in climate change communication and narrativization, eco-documentaries, and food narratives. In recent years, I have also returned to creative writing with some short stories and my first novel, Fragile (2023).

I also work as a risk communication expert for the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) of the European Commission, facilitating Masterclasses for European policy makers and contributing to the preparEU flagship initiative to address challenges in disaster risk communication.

UPCOMING TALKS 

October 15-16, 2026

Narrating Food Justice: From Documentary Film to Transmedia Storytelling

Two-day Ecocriticism Course in the Literature and Intercultural Communication program at Masaryk University

Brno, Czech Republic

November 12, 2026

Visions of Sustainability: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Green City Life

Invited talk for the Cinema and Environment II online seminar series at the Universitat de les Illes Balears

Palma, Spain

April 28-30, 2027

Keynote lecture at the international conference “Animal Advocacy Nonfiction Film and Moving-Image Media” at the University of Valencia

Valencia, Spain