A Look Back at the First Year of the Department of Society, Knowledge, and Politics (SoKPol)

On January 1, 2024, three smaller institutes merged to form the new Department of Society, Knowledge, and Politics. In this report, we reflect on the personal and academic highlights of the first year of “SoKPol.”

Report by Helene Sorgner

Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, and Science Communication and Higher Education Research: These three fields of study, previously represented by separate organizational units at AAU, have been united under one roof since early 2024. The newly established Department of Society, Knowledge, and Politics builds on the shared interests of its members, fostering more intensive exchange and new synergies—as demonstrated by numerous activities during the first year.

Research Stays Abroad

The first half of the year was characterized by research-related absences as several department members embarked on extended stays abroad.

From November 2023 to the end of March 2024, Anja Bauer completed a research stay at Arizona State University (ASU) as part of her tenure-track agreement. She spent the initial phase at the School of the Future of Innovation in Society in Tempe, Arizona,followed by two months at the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes in Washington, D.C.. The stay resulted in lectures and publications addressing the authority of scientific policy advice in an era of polarization and post-truth politics.

Julia Malik spent 13 months in Colombia for her dissertation project. Her ethnographic fieldwork on a digital classification and administration system for social welfare was supported by a Marietta Blau Grant and mobility funding from the University of Klagenfurt.

Christof Lammer has been a fellow at the Käte Hamburger Center “inherit. heritage in transformation” at Humboldt University in Berlin since April 2024. Studying the case of the giant panda, he examines how humans measure kinship to protect species, and how this transforms not only human-animal  relations but also power relations in society, bureaucracy and  politics.

Research Projects

The year 2024 brought numerous new projects to the institute, along with new team members.

Erik Aarden has been co-leading a project titled “The Governance of and through Tests” since April, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and conducted in collaboration with Ingrid Metzler (Karl Landsteiner Private University for Health Sciences). The project examines the testing strategies of three European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Viktoria Meklin will be writing her dissertation as a research associate on this project.

Another project by Erik Aarden, “Making Meanings of Biodiversity: Species Monitoring and Science Communication at Two Austrian Biosphere Reserves,” is funded by the AAU Research Council. Together with master’s student Jasmin Gramschek, he investigates the practices and concepts of biodiversity in the Nockberge and Wienerwald biosphere reserves.

Under the leadership of Martina Merz and with contributions from Daniel Barben, the “City Science Lab (University of Klagenfurt): Climate & Cities Missions in Action” secured over one million euros from a special budget of the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF). The project aims to support Klagenfurt on its path to climate neutrality. A university hub, based at the Department of Society, Knowledge, and Politics, will bring together researchers from various disciplines and drive a just transition to a climate-resilient city of the future.

Publications

Lammer, Christof. 2024. Performing State Boundaries: Food Networks, Democratic Bureaucracy and China. New York: Berghahn Books.

Staff Updates

• Anja Bauer received tenure in January, becoming an Associate Professor. She is among the first to achieve qualification under AAU’s new tenure-track model.
• Helmut Guggenberger, former head of the Institute for Sociology, retired in October but remains affiliated with AAU as a lecturer.
• Michael Jonas joined the team taking on teaching responsibilities from Christof Lammer.
• Martina Merz resumed her full teaching and research activities at the institute in December after serving four years as Vice-Rector for Research.
• Helene Sorgner returned from parental leave in September.
• Daria Jadreškić transitioned to the Digital Age Research Center (D!ARC) at AAU following the end of the research project “Producing Novelty & Securing Credibility in LHC-Experiments.”

Department Retreat

On September 25 and 26, 2024, the institute held its first joint retreat at St. Georgen/Längsee. In-depth discussions covered shared teaching content, research interests, and institutional responsibilities. A hike around the lake was followed by a celebratory farewell for Helmut Guggenberger.

Department Retreat in St.Georgen. Credit: Kornelia Kanyo

Research Colloquium

The winter semester of 2024/25 marked the launch of a new event format: the research colloquium. In this series, the institute’s researchers present their current work. Open to all interested parties, the colloquium fosters exchange beyond institutional boundaries. Initial presentations included Anja Bauer (on insights from her research stay in the U.S.), Erik Aarden (on biodiversity monitoring practices in an Austrian national park), and Vedran Duančić (on techno-optimism in the final years of Yugoslavia).

Holiday Celebration

A special highlight at the end of the year was a joint dinner at Gasthaus im Landhaushof. For some institute members, this was a long-standing tradition; for others, a new experience. The gathering marked the conclusion of a successful year and the beginning of new traditions, reflecting a growing institute with strong foundations and ambitious plans for the future.