Cecilie Rubow

Cecilie Rubow is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Social Sciences. She has been a core academic member since 2006 and is actively involved in research on religion, nature, environment, and ethics. Her work bridges Nordic and Oceanic contexts, particularly focusing on climate change, eco-theology, and cultural responses to environmental transformation.

• Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, 2000
• Master (Mag.art) in Anthropology, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus, 1995

Her research interests lie at the intersection of religion and environmental change. She explores how people in Danish and Polynesian contexts make sense of climate change through ethical, spiritual, and habitual frameworks. Her work emphasizes qualitative research design and ethnographic depth, often focusing on the entanglements between nature, culture, and transcendence.

Her recent publications reveal a strong trend toward eco-theological inquiry, enchanted ecologies, and the sensory and ethical dimensions of environmental engagement. Themes include indoor nature, walking practices, hunting, and the metaphysics of earthly existence. Her research projects—such as CARNAL, HABITS, OMODE, and the DFF-funded Enchanted Ecologies—demonstrate sustained interdisciplinary and empirical rigor.

She has received notable scientific awards:

• Stiftelsen Einar Hansens Forskningsfonds Forskningspris (2004)
• Dansk Etnografisk Forenings Formidlingspris (2022)
• Årets Harald (2023)

She has supervised or co-edited major collaborative volumes and has been a principal investigator on significant grants. She is also active in academic governance as a member of the Research Committee and the Danish Council for Independent Research – Humanities. Her work demonstrates deep engagement with both scholarly and public anthropological discourse.

She is part of ongoing research networks including Waterworlds (ERC) and leads initiatives that explore oracular modeling and eco-ethical articulations of food and flesh. Her lab or research team affiliations are embedded within the Department of Anthropology’s ethnographic and environmental research clusters.