Elizabeth Kaplan’s current research focuses on environmental humanities and on trauma. In her recent book, she explores ways dystopian film (opposite of utopia) and fiction might help people productively engage with their anxieties about climate change. Her other areas of expertise include cultural studies, media, and women's studies, from diverse theoretical perspectives including psychoanalysis, feminism, postmodernism, and post-colonialism. She also has conducted and published pioneering research on women in film, which has been influential in the United States and abroad.