Dr. des. Alexandra Rabensteiner

Since November 2023, I have been working as a postdoctoral researcher on the "Dissecting Society. Nineteenth-Century Sociographic Journalism and the Formation of Ethnographic and Sociological Knowledge" project. My research focuses on examining early forms of ethnographic and sociographic knowledge in German-speaking regions through social descriptions found in journalistic and literary texts. I specifically analyze the journal "Morgenblatt für gebildete Stände / gebildete Leser" (1837–1857). My research questions revolve around media studies, the history of knowledge, historical aspects of European Ethnology, and women's history. My interest in this topic started in 2018 as a doctoral researcher first in the project "Sezierungen des Gesellschaftlichen: Publizistische Skizzen und die Formierung ethnografisch-soziologischer Wissensordnungen (1830–1860)" funded by the DFG and from 2020 on in the ERC-project "Dissecting Society". In 2023, I successfully defended my thesis titled “,[I]n lieblichster Muße Land und Volk zu beobachten'. Das Morgenblatt für gebildete Leser und die Formierung ethnographischen Wissens (1837–1857)". I have been using media as significant sources to address everyday life and cultural studies questions since completing my bachelor's degrees in European Ethnology (Bakk. phil., Innsbruck, AT) and History (BA, Innsbruck, AT), as well as my Master of Arts in European Ethnology (MA) in Vienna. During my master's program, for instance, my thesis delved into the contemporary discourse surrounding meat in German-speaking journals.