
AquaNaturesCultures – Still water economies in the Anthropocene
Still waters run deep. The expression usually refers to the idea that calm people are filled with significant depth and complexity. Still waters, however, give this saying a literal meaning. Beneath their surface lies a world that is often perceived as unexciting. But those who take a closer look will realize how important still waters are for life on earth. This includes their value as habitats, as sources of food, and diverse economic opportunities. The research project explores still waters at this nexus and develops, by systematically conceptualizing these as AquaNaturesCultures, an anthropological understanding of agricultural economies that operate with and in still waters in the Anthropocene. In so doing, the project pays attention to bodies of water which have vastly been neglected in anthropology. It combines the anthropology of the rural, anthropology of waters, NaturesCultures and multi-species approaches. Four ethnographic sub-projects in rural Bavaria (Germany) – the country’s front-runner in still water economies – examine long-standing still water economies (pond farming and lake fishing) and newer industries (aquaponics and algae farming). The project will offer important insights into the critical question: What is the future of agriculture, and, not least, life on earth? The project received funding in the Emmy Noether Programme (German Research Foundation).

Junior Professorship “Anthropology of the Rural”
I develop the “Anthropology of the Rural” in Würzburg against the background of my research focus on climate change, human-nature relationships, multispecies studies, the commodification of nature and regulatory practices of water bodies. The junior professorship “Anthropology of the Rural” is dedicated to the study of rurality from a cultural and social science perspective, both in the past and present. The professorship, which is unique in the German research landscape, combines questions about rural living and working conditions. It asks how rural spaces are experienced, lived and (re)formed. It examines agricultural practices and human-environment relationships. The aim of the junior professorship is not to define ‘the rural’ geographically, but to show how and where ‘rurality’ is produced, for example, through labour migration, food production and chains. This approach makes it possible to explore the heterogeneous and ever-changing expectations of rurality, as well as conflicts and transformations in rural areas. With its open view of rurality, the junior professorship is broadly applicable to interdisciplinary dialogues with neighbouring disciplines, such as geography, literature and history or sociology. By integrating multispecies approaches, the professorship offers numerous opportunities for collaboration with agricultural, forestry and other natural sciences as well as applied sciences.

Making Algae (In-)Visible: Tourism, Responsibility and Governance along the Caribbean Coast of Mexico
Climate change creates new relations between the local and global, new practices of governance emerge, and questions of responsibility are raised. Ethnographic research can show how actors on the ground deal with these key questions on a daily basis. In this project I examine questions of responsibility-making and governance in the context of anthropogenic environmental change ethnographically by studying the Mexican Caribbean coast. Sargasso algae, as can bee seen on the photo above, has been washed up in vast amounts for several years along the country's touristified coastal zones. The algae leads to beach degradation, decreased tourism, and a pronounced health risk to humans. The question I address with my research is: How is anthropogenic environmental change governed and negotiated along the Caribbean coast with and through anthropogenic environmental change in actors’ everyday lives? My project received funding from the German Research Foundation.

Young Refugees in the EU: Age Negotiations and Adult Minors
More and more young people are fleeing to Europe. After their arrival, local authorities in the country of arrival usually carry out an age assessment to determine one's chronological age, such as through an x-ray of the wrist bone. This is conducted as reception conditions and refugees' legal rights are linked to the status of being viewed as an 'unaccompanied minor' or as an adult. Along the migration movements of young people who fled from Somalia, my research demonstrates how the category of the 'unaccompanied minor' is created and used in Malta. The central focus here is the negotiation of age between the young refugees and institutional actors. My book Junge Geflüchtete an der Grenze. Eine Ethnografie zu Altersaushandlungen is in press with Campus (Frankfurt am Main) and has been available from mid-December 2020. I illustrate the diverse ways in which young refugees experience and navigate their classification as minors in the European border regime. My project was awarded the Augsburger Wissenschaftspreis für interkulturelle Studien.