Research
That’s like in every science — in the end, it turns out everything was completely different than expected.
My research interests lie in the field of media, religion, and culture. I analyze material, medial, technological, and digital aspects through audio and/or visual media, study media actors (producers, media professionals, audiences), and reflect on media-ethical dimensions. The projects employ various theoretical and methodological approaches and address both historical and contemporary topics.
Theoretical and methodological expertise
Theories and methods of cultural, religious and media studies
Media and film analysis
Media ethics and ethics of the digital
Documentary media
Migration, religion, and media discourses
Qualitative methods
Cultural studies
Quantitative audience studies
Religion and the internet
(Self-) Representations of religious communities
Construction of Gender
Media and religion
Digital religion
Mediatisation and Digitalisation
Digital and electronic media play a central role in contemporary wedding rituals—whether in the preparation, the ceremony itself, or the events that follow. Wedding photographers and videographers stage the couple during the ritual, the reception, or the celebration. These representations often shape how the couple and their guests remember the day. This leads to the following research question: What norms and values are conveyed by contemporary media portrayals of religious and secular weddings in Europe? The research project is being carried out within the framework of a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship. Project website: www.promising-images.eu
In collaboration with Maria T. Soto-Sanfiel (Center for Trusted Internet and Community, NUS), I am conducting a qualitative study on the moral dimensions of deepfakes of deceased individuals. The study explores the conditions under which such representations may be ethically acceptable or even meaningful for recipients—and when they are considered immoral. It also examines the extent to which these deepfakes reflect religious worldviews. The study combines approaches from religious studies and media ethics with qualitative methods. The aim of future research is to develop a transdisciplinary theory of digital culture, understood as a practice of negotiating societal meanings. The focus lies on questions of cultural transformation through AI, changing worldviews, and the role of digital media in relation to democracy, inclusion, and sustainability.
Film
The 1914 film document (4 parts, 8 hours runtime) "The Photo-Drama of Creation" tells the story of the Old and New Testaments. The film was created by Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Bible Student movement, from which the religious group Jehovah’s Witnesses later emerged. The international research project, involving twelve scholars, aims to examine both the aesthetic dimensions and the distribution and reception of this film-historical document across different countries. My contribution focuses on analyzing the religious worldview of the Bible Students as reflected in the film. The research is funded by the George Eastman Museum (Rochester, NY, US), which is also restoring the film. The contributions will be published in an elaborately designed art book featuring numerous scene stills from The Photo-Drama of Creation.
Hardly any other genre encodes masculinity, power, and morality as clearly as the Western. Traditionally shaped by hegemonic gender roles and religious motifs such as guilt, redemption, and justice, the Western has undergone a transformation in recent times: gender roles are being subverted, diversity is becoming visible, and religious interpretations are being questioned. This shift has prompted scholarly inquiry into the cinematic (re)construction of gender identities and diversity in the context of religion and the Western genre. The focus lies on both the representation and the reception of religious and gender identities. Particular attention is given to the interplay between genre and gender: the Western serves as a case study for analyzing cultural narratives, religious imagery, and gender codings — for instance, through the lens of feminist film theory and film-historical perspectives.
Die Forschung ist eine Zusammenarbeit mit Natalie Fritz (FHGR, Chur/CH), Marie-Therese Mäder, Charles Martig (Kath. Kirche Bern/CH), Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati (LMU, München/CH) und Csongor Kozma (Paulus Akademie, Zürich/CH)
Migration
Media play a central role in how migration experiences and religious belongings are negotiated, conveyed, and perceived by the public. From today’s perspective, this includes not only traditional mass media such as newspapers, radio, or social networks, but also films, documentaries, podcasts, and literature that approach the topic in diverse ways. Historically, there have also been a variety of media forms that address migration and religion—such as travelogues, poems, letters, or visual representations. This research project focuses on the present and asks: How are religious belongings remembered, negotiated, and communicated in migration processes through media and media artifacts? The aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the role of media in both collective and individual remembrance of migration experiences.
Center for Trusted Internet and Community, National University of Singapore, (Prof. Dr. Maria Teresa Soto Sanfiel): Forschungsprojekt Digital Media Ethics and AI: Moral Reasoning in Social Networks
Università die Macerata (IT), Departement Geisteswissenschaften (Prof. Dr. Carla Danani): Forschung zur Mediatisierung von Hochzeiten in unterschiedlichen kulturellen Kontexten
Hochschule für Philosophie München (DE), Zentrum für Ethik der Medien und der digitalen Gesellschaft, (Prof. Dr. Alexander Filipović): Medienethik, Ethik digitaler Medien und künstlicher Intelligenz
George Eastman Museum, Rochester/NY (US) (Dr. Paolo Cherchi Usai): Forschung zu The Photo-Drama of Creation(1914)
Universität Zürich (CH), Zentrum für Religion Wirtschaft und Politik (Prof. Dr. Christiane Tietz): Forschung und Lehre zu Medien, Religion und Öffentlichkeit
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München (DE), Forschungsgruppe “Medien und Religion” (Prof. Dr. Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati): Forschung zu Medien und Religion, Organisation von Konferenzen und Publikationen
Universitat Autònoma di Barcelona (ES), Abteilung Audiovisuelle Kommunikation und Werbung (Prof. Dr. Maria Teresa Soto Sanfie)l: Forschungsprojekt Zuschauerforschung
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Comparative Media Studies (Prof. Dr. Edward Schiappa, Prof. Dr. Heather Hendershot): Austausch über religiöse Gemeinschaften in den Medien, Medientheorien- und geschichte
Harvard University (USA), North American Religions Colloquium (Prof. Dr. David N. Hempton, Prof. Dr. David F. Holland): Amerikanische Religionsgeschichte und Mormonentum
Yale Unversity (USA), Film Studies Program (Prof. Dr. Charles Musser): Dokumentarfilmtheorie und Filmgeschichte
Villanova University (USA), Theology and Religious Studies (Prof. Dr. Stefanie Knauss): Konferenzen, Publikationen
University of Hull (GB), Faculty of Arts and Social Science (Dr. Alexander D. Ornella): Workshops, Publikationen
University of London (GB), Roehampton university (Dr. Sean Ryan): Publikationen, Konferenzen.
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