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 

April 17, 2026

Between Resistance and Resilience: Nonhuman Agency and Sentience in Farm Sanctuary Documentaries

Paper presentation at the Biennial Conference of the European Association for the Study of Literature, Culture, and Environment (EASLCE) “Join the Orca Uprising! Nonhuman Resistance and Multispecies (In)Justice” at Utrecht University

Utrecht, Netherlands

May 7, 2026

Visionen der Nachhaltigkeit: Ergebnisse des Transdisciplinarären Forschungsprojekts

Invited talk as part of the Environmental Humanities Network Lunch Lectures at the University of Freiburg

Freiburg, Germany

June 9-11, 2026

Invited participation in an expert workshop on disaster risk communication organized by the Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DG ECHO) of the European Commission

Brussels, Belgium