Research Focus Areas

• Theory, epistemology of Social and Cultural Anthropology (specially: interdisciplinary thinking and methodology of social sciences, evolution and culture change).
• History of German-speaking and French Ethnology/Anthropology (19th-20th century)
• Theories of Social and Cultural Transformation, Digitalization
• Theory in Urban Anthropology: development of urban areas in Africa and Europe (special focus on ecology and development, Know-how transfer, waste and recycling, and cooperation between social sciences and technical experts).

Short Biography

Since 2003: Univ.-Doz. affiliated to the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology Vienna (V.-Prof.Doz.). 2008-2010: Full Prof. for Social and Cultural Anthropology. Since 1992: Research on the development of urban areas in Africa and Europe (special focus on modernity and globalization, ecology and development, know-how transfer, waste and recycling, and cooperation between social sciences and technical experts). And Research on the theory and history of anthropology (in particular: interdisciplinary thinking and historical anthropology, methodology of social sciences, evolution and culture change). Evaluator and Academic reviewer for several research institutions and programs. Supervision of theses (MA, PhD) on developmental issues in Africa and Europe, and the history of Anthropology. Actually supervisor of one third-found-research and interdisciplinary PhD Thesis by Suzana Jovicic (Third-Party Founding by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1/09/17-31/08/20).

Selected Publications

• (2011) Angepasste Technologien. In: Fernand Kreff, Eva-Maria Knoll, Andre Gingrich (ed.) Lexikon der Globalisierung. Anthropologische und sozialwissenschaftliche Zugänge zur Praxis. Transcript Verlag: Bielefeld. 24-28.
• (2012) Die Materialität der Tradition. Traditionalisierungen im Alltag zwischen Ökonomie und Identitätsfindung. In: Hermann Mückler/Gerald Faschingeder (Hg.) Tradition und Traditionalismus. Zur Instrumentalisierung eines Identitätskonzepts. ProMedia: Wien. 213-230.
• (2012) Underconsumption. In: Carl A. Zimring (ed.) Encyclopedia of Consumption and Waste. The Social Science of Garbage. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
• (2015) Anfänge der Ethnologie in der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien: die ersten Phasen der Institutionalisierung. In: Anthropos 110, 2015: 1-12.
• (2018) Wilhelm Schmidt (1868-1954) – Begründer der “Wiener Schule der Kulturhistorie”. In: Petrus Bsteh, Brigitte Proksch (Hg.) Wegbereiter des interreligiösen Dialogs, Band II. Wien: LIT-Verlag. 69-82.
• (2018) Bastian, Adolf. In: Hilary Callan (ed.) The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology. New York: Wiley.