Elise Nykänen is a University Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Helsinki's Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugrian and Scandinavian Studies. She holds a Docent Contract and has been actively involved in international collaborations, including visiting scholar positions at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the Ohio State University's Project Narrative Institute. Her research focuses on cognitive and affective narratology, particularly in Finnish modernist literature and the representation of emotions, fictional minds, and dialogue in works by authors like Marja-Liisa Vartio and Rosa Liksom. Her academic career includes post-doctoral projects examining existential feelings in modernist prose and cultural-specific emotions in Nordic literature. She has contributed to over 35 peer-reviewed publications and edited volumes, including her monograph Mysterious Minds (2017). Nykänen has participated in numerous conferences and review boards, such as the Fafnir Journal, and has been involved in funded research projects like 'Culture-specific emotions and literature' (2023–2027). Her teaching emphasizes Finnish post-war modernism, narrative rhetoric, and fictional mind presentation. She has engaged in media discussions on topics like 'northern emotions' and the intersection of literature with everyday life.
