Find Academic Supervisors

Dr. Sharae Deckard is Associate Professor in World Literature at the School of English, Drama and Film, University College Dublin (UCD). She is a leading scholar in the fields of world literature, postcolonial ecocriticism, world-systems theory, and speculative fiction. She serves as Director of the UCD Environmental Humanities research strand and is a member of the Irish Humanities Alliance's Environmental Humanities Steering Group. Her editorial roles include co-editing Palgrave's New Comparisons in World Literature series and serving on the editorial board of Liverpool Studies in Literature and the Environment. Her research interests include: Postcolonial literature and environmental criticism World-systems and world-ecology approaches to literature Neoliberalism and cultural production Genre fiction, including ecogothic, ecohorror, cli-fi, and weird fiction Social reproduction feminism and gendered labor Peripheral modernism and critical irrealism Her recent publications reveal a strong focus on the intersections of capitalism, ecology, and cultural form, particularly in the Global South. Themes such as hydro-dependency, fossil capital, food and energy systems, and the socio-ecology of gendered labor recur across her work. Her 2024 article on 'women’s work' in world-literature and the co-authored book Tracking Capital exemplify her current trajectory in integrating Marxist, feminist, and ecological frameworks for literary analysis. Her scientific recognition includes the BACLS Edited Collection Prize for World Literature, Neoliberalism, and the Culture of Discontent . She has secured multiple research grants, including on food, energy, and climate representations, and is currently co-investigator on the 'Cultural Imaginaries of Just Transition' project. She advises and mentors students, though specific names are not listed. Her teaching portfolio is extensive, covering courses such as Reading World Literature, Global Science Fiction, Climate and Environment in Global Literature, and World-Systems/World-Literature. She has coordinated these modules for several years, demonstrating sustained pedagogical leadership. She is an active member of professional networks, including the Association for Study of Literature and the Environment (UK-Ireland) and the Postcolonial Studies Association (UK). She engages in public scholarship through radio and television appearances and has organized public events, such as an interview with author Mohsin Hamid.

• World Literature
• Postcolonial Literature
• Environmental Criticism
• +17 more

Shir Alon is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from UCLA (2017) and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Columbia University (2010). Her research focuses on Arabic and Hebrew cultural production, exploring modernist literary styles and their political dimensions in the Middle East. She is affiliated with Jewish Studies and Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature programs. Current projects investigate neoliberalism’s impact on cultural representations of the future, including petrofictions from the Arabian Peninsula and Palestinian/Lebanese futurism. Her scholarly work bridges literary theory, postcolonial studies, and gender studies, with a particular emphasis on modern Middle Eastern literatures. Recent publications analyze themes like implicated ethics, neoliberal riskscapes, and the intersections of trauma and memory. While no awards are listed here, her research demonstrates significant contributions to comparative cultural analysis. Advising and grant details are not explicitly documented in the provided text. Her teaching includes courses on modern Middle Eastern literatures, literary theory, and Arabic literature in translation. She engages with decolonial frameworks and the role of pedagogy in cultural studies. Current affiliations include the Asian & Middle Eastern Studies department and interdisciplinary programs at the University of Minnesota.

• Modern Middle Eastern Literatures
• Comparative Literature
• Literary Theory
• +5 more

Dr. Andrew Webb is a Senior Lecturer in Modern English Literature at Bangor University's School of Arts, Culture and the Media , specializing in Ecocriticism and the English-language literature of Wales . He joined Bangor in 2012 after appointments at Swansea, Birmingham, and Warwick Universities, where he completed his PhD as an Early Career Research Fellow. Key modules taught: 'Exploring Modern and Contemporary Writing', 'Climate Change in Contemporary Culture', 'Writing Wales, Writing Ireland', and 'This World: Going Global' Editor of the International Journal of Welsh Writing in English and Co-Editor of the Writers of Wales monograph series Active in international research networks with presentations in the US and Japan His research examines how cultural forms (literature, film, language) shape public understanding of climate change , energy transitions , and environmental justice . Recent publications include work on Welsh petrofiction, dam displacement narratives, and climate crisis poetry. He supervises PhD projects in Ecocriticism and Welsh writing in English. Scientific awards include New Teacher of the Year at Bangor’s Student-Led Teaching Awards (2012). He co-organized the Welsh Energy Humanities Network (2023) and contributes to public engagement through the Shankland Lecture Series (2024) on oil in Welsh culture.

• Ecocriticism
• Welsh Literature in English
• Climate Change Representation
• +3 more

Dr. Kristen Figgins serves as Assistant Professor of English in the Department of English at Mississippi University for Women's College of Arts & Sciences. Her scholarly profile integrates Victorian literary traditions with contemporary adaptation theory, petrofiction, and environmental humanities, emphasizing regional Texan contexts and gender dynamics. Her academic foundation includes: Ph.D. in English from University of Arkansas M.A. in English from University of Louisiana B.A. in English from University of Texas-Permian Basin Research focuses on: Adaptation Studies: particularly Victorian literature's transformation in modern media Petrofiction: analyzing oil culture narratives in Permian Basin literature Environmental Humanities: examining ecological anxieties through Lovecraft and VanderMeer Flash Fiction: exploring narrative compression and fabulist techniques Publication trends reveal consistent engagement with adaptation theory across temporal and geographic contexts, from 19th-century illustrations to contemporary oil narratives. Her work demonstrates methodological rigor in connecting historical literary forms with urgent ecological and cultural concerns, particularly regarding gender representation and regional identity in American Southwest literature. No scientific awards are documented in available sources. Student advising, grant activities, and laboratory affiliations remain unspecified in current materials, though her research trajectory suggests ongoing contributions to adaptation theory and environmental literary studies through future publications and academic collaborations.

• Adaptation Studies
• Victorian Literature
• Petrofiction
• +3 more

Lara Saguisag is an Associate Professor and Georgiou Chair in Children’s Literature and Literacy at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She holds a PhD in Childhood Studies from Rutgers University-Camden, an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School, an MA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University, and a BA in English from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Her research integrates climate justice and energy justice movements with children’s cultural forms, exploring human relationships with fossil fuels through her upcoming book project. She co-founded Climate Lit, an open-access resource for teaching climate change via children’s literature. She also advances global Filipino Studies, focusing on labor, race, and colonial dynamics in Filipino/American children’s literature. As a member of NYU’s Sulo Initiative steering committee, she co-authored the public syllabus Here Lies Love in Critical Contexts . Her award-winning monograph Incorrigibles and Innocents: Constructing Childhood and Citizenship in Progressive Era Comics examines discourses of childhood and nationhood in early 20th-century newspaper comics. Her work has been honored with the Charles Hatfield Book Prize, Ray and Pat Browne Award, and Eisner nominations. She serves as Vice-President/President-Elect of the Children’s Literature Association (ChLA) and Associate Editor of INKS: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society . Her interdisciplinary projects bridge academia and community, emphasizing public scholarship and global Filipino intellectual traditions. Recent work highlights climate activism in youth literature and the role of comics in cultural critique.

• Climate Justice
• Energy Justice
• Children's Literature
• +4 more

Rama Alhabian is an Assistant Professor of Arabic at Hamilton College, specializing in modern and medieval Arabic literature with interdisciplinary connections to postcolonial studies and Islamicate world literatures . Her research bridges medievalist and postcolonial methodologies to re-examine Arabic literary histories through transnational frameworks. Teaches courses in geopoetics, petrocriticism, postcolonial modernity, and Indian Ocean literary archives Focuses on transcending nationalist paradigms through literature and arts Expertise in multilingual Islamicate languages: Judaeo-Arabic, Hebrew, Swahili Research Themes explore intersections of: 19th-century Arabic maqamat within global literary comparison Colonial modernity and oil's cultural impact ('Petrofictions') Island studies and maritime literary networks Translation theory and genre evolution Recent Publications analyze sensory history, translingual poetics, and textual criticism of foundational Arabic works. She has received multiple grants including the Andrew Mellon Fellowship and President's Travel Fund for her scholarly activities. Awards & Recognitions: John R. Hatch Excellence in Teaching Award (2023) Dean of Faculty Work in Progress Grant (2023) School of Criticism and Theory Fellowship (2015) Kathryn Davis Fellowship for Peace (2014) Actively involved in institutional committees including the Student Fellowships Committee and Language Center Advisory Committee. Professional memberships span Modern Language Association and Middle East Studies Association.

• Modern Arabic Literature
• Medieval Arabic Literature
• Postcolonial Studies
• +9 more

Dr Alireza Fakhrkonandeh is a Lecturer in World Literature, World Drama and Environmental Humanities at the University of Southampton's Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Department of English. His interdisciplinary work bridges literary studies, environmental humanities, and critical theory with a particular focus on energy representations in global literature and drama. Alireza's research interests center on Energy and Environmental Humanities with specializations in petrofiction, hydrofiction, and petroculture. His work probes representations of oil, water, and energy resources across Anglo-American and world literature, particularly examining ethical, aesthetic and ontological facets of environment and ecology. Additional research strands include intersections between postcolonial/decolonial theory and world literatures, philosophy of mind-body relationships, and the philosophy of the event. His scholarship also explores literary representations of mental health, therapy culture, and psychopathologies within dramatic literature. His publication record reveals a consistent focus on the intersections of energy systems, postcolonial critique, and dramatic form. Recent work demonstrates increasing attention to infrastructural analysis of energy systems, particularly pipelines and oil extraction, while maintaining his foundational work on Howard Barker's Theatre of Catastrophe. His scholarship shows a clear trajectory from theoretical explorations of the event toward more materially grounded analyses of energy infrastructure and its cultural representations. Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers (60000 £) 2025-2026 British Academy Award for Oil-Water Complex Project (10000 £) 2022 The Most Engaging Lecturer Award 2024 Fellow of Higher Education Academy 2019 SIAH Award for Oil Cultures Project (2000 £) 2021 Alireza actively supervises PhD students including Gashaw Abdulkhaleq Mohammed (PhD English) and Max Syed-Tollan (PhD Music), welcoming inquiries on topics related to modern/postmodern tragedy, post-dramatic theatre, and representations of medicine and mental illness in drama. His research is supported by multiple grants including a British Academy Award (2022) for the Oil-Water Complex project and a SIAH Award (2021) for his Cultures, Ecologies, Economies of Oil project which featured cross-disciplinary talks with scholars in environmental history and Energy Humanities. As a member of the Centre for Modern and Contemporary Writing (CMCW), Alireza contributes to a vibrant research community focused on contemporary literary production. His current projects include completing two books: Fueling the Global Stage: Infrastructural Criticism, Performative Petrocultures, and World Dramas (under contract, 2026) and the second volume of Oil and Modern World Dramas (under contract, 2027).

• Energy and Environmental Humanities
• World Literature
• World Dramas
• +9 more

Dr. Rinni Marliyana Haji Amran is a Lecturer in English Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, concurrently holding a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022-2024) at the University of Oslo's Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Exeter (2015), MA in Literatures of Modernity from Royal Holloway, University of London, and BA in English Language and Literature from King's College London. Her research examines energy-literature intersections through ecocritical and postcolonial frameworks, specializing in: Global petrocultures and Southeast Asian energy narratives Environmental imaginaries in Bruneian/Malaysian literature Climate fiction and resource extraction politics Islamic technological modernities in cultural production Publications demonstrate consistent focus on environmental humanities, with recent works analyzing waste ecologies, anti-extractivism, and religious-technological interfaces. Awarded the prestigious MSCA Fellowship for her project 'Petro-Ambiguity' examining Bruneian oil cultures. Supervises graduate research on diasporic literature and contemporary Singaporean writing. Professional roles include: Member, Association for the Study of Literature and Environment-ASEAN (2021-present) Sub-editor, Discover UBD Newsletter (2020-present) Peer reviewer for Environment and History journal

• Energy Humanities
• Ecocriticism
• Southeast Asian Literature
• +4 more

Dr Graeme Macdonald is a Full Professor at the University of Warwick's Faculty of Arts, specializing in English and Comparative Literary Studies. He serves as convenor of the Environmental Humanities Masters program and leads the university's Spotlight on Sustainability initiative. MA (Joint Honors in Literature and Sociology) from University of Aberdeen PhD from University of Glasgow Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) from Warwick His research spans Energy Humanities, Petrocultures, and Environmental Humanities, focusing on climate narratives, resource extraction in global literature, and post-fossil futures. He contributes to projects like Climaginaries and collaborates with artist Paul Lemmon on the Warwick Transformations Project. His publications include Combined and Uneven Development (2015) and articles in Science Fiction Studies and Journal of Postcolonial Writing . He led the Eutopia Connected Community project (2024/25) and received the SFRA Pioneer Award (2015). Nadia Backleh: World Literature and Migration Pegah Pezeshki: Middle Eastern Revolution Narratives Former PhD supervisees include Nora Castle (Climate Fiction) and Harry Pitt-Scott (Petroculture)

• Energy Humanities
• Petrocultures
• Environmental Humanities
• +6 more

Fiona Polack is a Full Professor in the Department of English at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, where she conducts research at the intersection of energy humanities, environmental studies, and postcolonial theory. She serves as Academic Editor at Memorial University Press and leads the SSHRC Insight grant-funded project "Oil Rigs and Islands," which examines contemporary cultural figurations of place-making in offshore environments. Her work focuses on the cultural dimensions of offshore oil extraction, particularly in North Atlantic contexts, and she has established herself as a leading scholar in energy and environmental humanities with a specific focus on island and ocean studies. Dr. Polack's research interests include: Energy and Environmental Humanities Island and Ocean Studies Settler Colonialism Newfoundland and Labrador Literary and Cultural Studies Australian Literature Her scholarly work reveals a consistent focus on cultural representations of energy extraction in fragile marine environments, particularly examining how offshore oil industries are imagined and narrated in cultural texts. She has developed a distinctive comparative approach that juxtaposes Tasmania and Newfoundland as sites of settler colonialism with particular attention to Indigenous histories and contemporary issues. Her research demonstrates how cultural narratives shape public understanding of energy systems and environmental challenges, with emphasis on North Atlantic regions where offshore oil extraction has significant economic and ecological impacts. Dr. Polack has received significant research funding, including an SSHRC Insight Grant for her project "Oil Rigs and Islands," which investigates cultural meanings of rigs and islands as conduits for human and nonhuman place-making in offshore environments. She has collaborated extensively with Dr. Danine Farquharson on petroculture-related projects, resulting in co-edited collections such as "Cold Water Oil: Offshore Petroleum Cultures" (Routledge, 2021). This work examines how societies conceive of fossil fuel extraction in North Atlantic and Arctic waters, arguing that "what happens offshore matters" given that over a quarter of the world's oil and gas is produced from beneath the seas. Her notable publications include: Cold Water Oil: Offshore Petroleum Cultures (2021, co-edited with Danine Farquharson) Tracing Ochre: Changing Perspectives on the Beothuk (2018, edited) After Oil (2016, with the Petrocultures Research Group) Dr. Polack regularly teaches undergraduate courses including English 2122: World Literature in English, English 3009: Literature and Environment, English 3160: Empire and After, English 3161: Australian Literature, and English 4891: Imagining Islands, and graduate courses including English 7087: Petrofictions and English 7003: Theory for Our Times. She supervises graduate students working in Energy and Environmental Humanities, Island Studies, Ocean Humanities, Post-Colonial Literatures, Settler Colonialism, and Newfoundland and Labrador Literatures and Cultures.

• Energy and Environmental Humanities
• Island Studies
• Ocean Humanities
• +5 more

Karl Emil Rosenbæk Reetz is a Research Fellow at the University of Southern Denmark's Faculty of Humanities, Department of Culture and Language. He is actively affiliated with the SDU Climate Cluster and serves as a Postdoc at the SDU SCC Elite Center CUHRE, focusing on interdisciplinary environmental humanities research. Education: PhD in Literature and the Oil Impasse: Contemporary Petrofiction from Denmark and Norway (University of Southern Denmark, 2023) Cand.mag in Modern Culture (University of Copenhagen, 2017) BA in Contemporary Literature (University of Copenhagen, 2015) Gender Certificate (Koordinationen for Kønsforskning, 2017) His research centers on the Petroculture/Petrofiction nexus, examining how fossil fuels permeate Nordic literary imagination through frameworks like Energy Humanities and Blue Humanities. His work interrogates coastal literatures, ecological crises, and oil dependency narratives, particularly analyzing Danish and Norwegian fiction's engagement with hydrocarbon capitalism. Recent scholarship develops concepts like 'oceanic irrealism' and 'petromelancholy' to decode submerged cultural anxieties about energy transitions. Analysis of his 25+ publications reveals consistent focus on fossil fuel cultural critique across genres – from academic journals to newspaper commentaries. His work bridges literary analysis with political ecology, examining how fiction mediates social rights conflicts in offshore industries and critiques tech-industrial metaverse fantasies through ecological lenses. Rosenbæk Reetz actively contributes to public discourse through media appearances addressing climate literature and energy politics, while his research is anchored in major projects like CUHRE (2023-2027) exploring life-friendly land-sea interactions. Teaching & Supervision: Supervised PhD thesis: 'Nordic Literature and the Oil Impasse' Taught courses: 'Europe in Literature: Centre, Periphery, Planet' (2022) Developed curriculum: 'Ecological Perspectives in Danish/Norwegian Contemporary Literature'

• Petroculture
• Petrofiction
• Energy Humanities
• +5 more

Santiago Acosta is an Assistant Professor in Yale University’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese, specializing in modern and contemporary Latin American literature and visual arts through lenses of cultural studies, political economy, and environmental theory. He holds a Ph.D. in Latin American and Iberian Cultures from Columbia University (2020). His research examines cultural responses to extractivism, petroleum economies, and environmental crises, with a focus on Venezuela’s socio-ecological transformations. Key works include We Are Like Oil: An Ecology of the Venezuelan Culture Boom and co-edited volumes on ecopoetics and world-ecology. Acosta is also an award-winning poet, with El próximo desierto earning the José Emilio Pacheco Literature Prize. His creative work explores climate justice and ecological themes, alongside academic roles like membership in Yale’s Environmental Humanities Steering Committee and Whitney Humanities Center Fellowship. He previously served as a PRODiG Fellow at SUNY Old Westbury (2021–2023), helping launch their Environmental Studies program. Research interests span Energy Humanities, Ecocriticism, and the intersections of art/environmental policy. He frequently publishes in Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies , Mediations , and others, and co-edited the World-Ecology in Latin America special issue (2024). Teaching includes graduate seminars on Latin American Environmental Aesthetics and Energy Humanities, emphasizing colonialism, extractivism, and climate justice.

• Environmental Humanities
• Energy Humanities
• Latin American Literature
• +7 more

Christine Frank is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of European and Comparative Literature and Language Studies at the University of Vienna. Her teaching focuses on cross-cultural literary analysis, including topics like Japanese folk tales in Western languages, petrofiction, and Kafka's metamorphoses. Research interests include comparative literature, global pop culture, and literary romanticism/orientalism. Her work explores the evolution of narratives across cultural and historical contexts.

• Comparative Literature
• Japanese Studies
• Western Literature
• +4 more

Dr Yvonne Reddick serves as Reader in English Literature and Creative Writing within the School of Psychology and Humanities at the University of Central Lancashire. An award-winning poet and scholar of environmental culture, her work bridges academic research and creative practice with significant contributions to ecopoetry and Anthropocene studies. Her research interests focus on environmental literature, ecopoetics, and the intersection of nature writing with contemporary ecological crises. Reddick examines how poetry engages with climate change, resource conflicts, and planetary-scale transformations, particularly through studies of Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, and contemporary writers like Karen McCarthy Woolf. Her methodology combines literary analysis with creative practice, often exploring river journeys, mountain landscapes, and oil narratives as frameworks for understanding human-environment relations. Reddick's recent publications demonstrate a clear trajectory toward examining literary responses to the Anthropocene. Her work analyzes how poets navigate climate change discourse, environmental grief, and resource extraction narratives through innovative formal strategies. The recurring themes of seasonal disturbance, hydrological systems, and postcolonial environmental justice reveal a cohesive scholarly project centered on literature's role in ecological understanding. Poetry Society Award New Writing North Award Poetry School Award Northern Writers' Award As an active researcher, Reddick has secured grants from major funding bodies including AHRC, Leverhulme Trust, Arts Council England, and British Academy. She contributes to scholarly discourse as a member of UKRI's Peer Review College and collaborates across disciplines, notably creating the documentary Searching for Snow Hares with wildlife filmmaker Aleksander Domanski. Her creative practice directly informs her academic work, establishing a distinctive approach to environmental scholarship through poetic experimentation.

• Environmental Literature
• Ecopoetry
• Anthropocene Studies
• +4 more

Helen Kapstein serves as Professor in the English Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, with cross-disciplinary affiliations in the Environmental Justice Minor and Gender Studies programs. Her academic leadership spans postcolonial literary scholarship and energy humanities, focusing on justice-oriented cultural analysis across global contexts. Education: PhD in English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University (2002) MPhil, Columbia University (1998) MA, Columbia University (1995) BA, Brown University (1992) Kapstein's research critically examines intersections of oil politics, environmental crisis, and colonial legacies through literary lenses. Her expertise spans Nigerian petroculture, South African apartheid narratives, Victorian literature, feminist theory, and tourism studies, consistently framing literary analysis within contemporary justice movements. This interdisciplinary approach bridges cultural studies with materialist critiques of globalization and resource extraction. Her scholarly trajectory reveals an evolution from postcolonial theory toward energy humanities, with increasing emphasis on oil's cultural dimensions and climate crisis narratives. Recent publications demonstrate methodological innovation through digital archives and public scholarship, connecting historical literary analysis with urgent contemporary issues like book bans and authoritarianism. Scientific Awards: PSC-CUNY Research Award (2024) BRESI Award for "Decolonizing the John Jay English Major" (2022) PSC-CUNY Enhanced Research Award (2021) PSC-CUNY Research Award (2020) Senior Scholar Release Award, John Jay College (2019) Research in the Classroom Award, CUNY (2018) Professor Kapstein has mentored numerous independent studies and honors projects on topics including digital archives, climate literature, and postcolonial writing. Her research is supported by multiple CUNY-funded grants addressing curriculum decolonization and energy humanities pedagogy. She has also contributed significantly to public discourse through media engagements with Inside Higher Ed, The Conversation, and Ms. Magazine. Her scholarly leadership extends to the Cultural Studies Association (serving as Past President) and collaborative initiatives at John Jay College focused on environmental and racial justice curriculum development, though she maintains no dedicated laboratory space.

• Postcolonial literature and theory
• Nigerian literature and oil politics
• South African literature and culture
• +11 more