I am a writer, scholar, and educator, currently appointed as Associated Professor of American Studies at the University of Klagenfurt, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Freiburg where I direct the Visions of Sustainability project at the Sustainability Innovation Campus.
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).
Currently, I am directing the Visions of Sustainability project at the University of Freiburg, and I have been given the opportunity to 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.
