Maria Nilson

Maria Nilson is an Associate Professor in Comparative Literature at Linnaeus University's Faculty of Arts and Humanities. As co-founder of the Center for Studies in Popular Culture (PoCuS), she bridges academic and popular literature through innovative teaching of Romance, Fantasy, and Young Adult literature. Her digital humanities work includes developing the MOOC Fantastic Fiction and Where to Find It and pioneering online literary pedagogy.

Specializing in

• Romance fiction analysis
• Gender and postfeminism in YA literature
• Feel-Good genre evolution
• Steampunk cultural critique

Nilson's research reveals how popular genres reflect societal values. Her recent publications examine reproductive ethics in dystopian YA fiction and nostalgic elements in Astrid Lindgren adaptations.

Current projects include

• Steampunk romance narratives
• Feel-Good literature's cultural positioning
• Swedish Pixi book series analysis

with collaborations across Scandinavia's academic institutions.