The “Visual Cultures and Intermediality” doctoral program emphasizes the close link between visual culture studies and intermediality studies, which both address the semiotic and otherwise meaning-constitutive features of visuality as well as the boundaries and boundary crossings of media in their theoretical approaches and research. By combining visual culture studies which is based on cultural theory and intermediality studies which has its origin in literary studies but also incorporates other fields of study, the doctoral program emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to understanding texts and media. This interchange between fields also leads to a more complex understanding of the aesthetic conceptualizations of texts and media as well as their effect on both artists and recipients.  The doctoral program “Visual Cultures and Intermediality,” based at the American Studies Department and linked to the Centre for Intermediality Studies in Graz (CIMIG), aims to meet these expectations of collaborative research. The program is jointly offered by faculty members from various departments of the University of Graz, who alternate organizing doctoral colloquia.

Target audience of doctoral students

The doctoral program in “Visual Cultures and Intermediality” is only open to doctoral students who have already been admitted to the “Doctoral Programme of Philosophy“ at the University of Graz. For more information on the Doctoral Programme of Philosophy and how to apply, please visit: Doctoral Programme of Philosophy or contact the organizational unit for Academic Affairs. Please note that the admission process is centralized and that those who are in charge of the doctoral program “Visual Cultures and Intermediality” are not involved. It is also neither necessary nor possible to recruit a dissertation advisor before having been registered as doctoral candidate.

As a forum for excellent dissertation projects, the doctoral program “Visual Cultures and Intermediality” initiates and fosters continuous scholarly exchange regarding research activities in the field of visual cultures in the context of intermediality studies at the University of Graz.

Admission

1. Either (especially in case of recommendations from habilitated colleagues): Invitation by the head of the doctoral program (via UGO). Or: Contact by the doctoral candidate (in person, via email, etc.).
2. Submission of documents by doctoral candidate: a) Letter of motivation,
   b) Brief summary of the dissertation project, including a statement on how it relates to the topic of the doctoral program,
   c) CV.
3. Decision by the faculty of the doctoral program on admission (in clear cases, admission by the program director and subsequent notification to the faculty).
4. Invitation to the program via UGO and acceptance of the invitation by the doctoral candidate.

• Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Nassim Balestrini (Department of American Studies)
• Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Julian Blunk (Department of Arts and Musicology)
• Priv.-Doz. Dr.phil. Dominik Gutmeyr-Schnur (Department of History)
• Assoz.-Prof. Dr.phil. Saskia Jaszoltowski (Department of Arts and Musicology)
• Assoz.-Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Judith Laister (Department of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology)
• Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Tatjana Petzer (Department of Slavic Studies)
• Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Klaus Rieser (Department of American Studies)

Once a year, the doctoral program organizes a doctoral colloquium, which gives doctoral students the opportunity to present their research and doctoral theses and discuss open questions with the organizers of the program.

Organizers of the program: Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Nassim Balestrini, Assoz.-Prof. Dr.phil. Saskia Jaszoltowski, Assoz.-Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Judith Laister, Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Tatjana Petzer and Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Klaus Rieser.

Doctoral Colloquium: 512.323 Visual Cultures and Intermediality (Still/Motion: Relations of Movement and Stasis) with Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Nassim Balestrini, Assoz.-Prof. Dr.phil. Saskia Jaszoltowski, Assoz.-Prof. Dr.phil. Judith Laister, Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Tatjana Petzer and Ao.Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Klaus Rieser.

• Brailovskaia, Kseniia

• Evangelinidis, Evangelos

• Fritz, Christina Mariella

• Horvat, Jonatan

• Lorenzon, Anna

• Pešec, Lea

• Sun, Kaiyu

• Waitschacher, Markus Raffael

• Zyn, Katarzyna

• Summer Semester 2026

  • Vincenzo Maggitti (Roma Tre University), Intermediality, talk and event
     
  • Volker Depkat (University of Regensburg), historian, talk and event
     
  • Antonia Lant, Film Scholar, Visiting Professor
     

• Winter Semester 2025

  • Shared Filmworks. Lecture and film screening with Judith Albrecht (Elisabeth List Fellowship Program, University of Graz), Christoph Marx (Freie Universität Berlin), and Katrine Chalmer Pahuus (University of Aarhus, Denmark), organized by Judith Laister. Location: University of Graz. December 4, 2025

    “Shared Filmworks” explores the possibilities of collaborative and transcultural filmmaking as a means of dialogue and creative exchange. In this session, Judith Albrecht, Christoph Marx, and Katrine Paahus presented and discussed their ethnographic and collaborative film works created in Tanzania. Their projects involve local communities through participatory and reflective film practices. The event invited participants to reflect on how film can become a collaborative process—where research, representation, and cooperation converge.
     

  • Post-representation and educational work in museums. Theory, methods, and research in art education. Lecture by Prof. Nora Sternfeld (HFBK Hamburg) with contributions from Markus Waitschacher and Monika Holzer-Kernbichler (both Universalmuseum Joanneum), organized by Judith Laister in cooperation with the doctoral program “Visual Cultures and Intermediality” and the Centre for Intermediality Studies in Graz (CIMIG). Location: Neue Galerie Graz, Atelier Kunstvermittlung. October 16, 2025

    What motivates visitors to art exhibitions in their perception of images, objects, and the knowledge conveyed in museums? The dialogue-based lecture afternoon was devoted to different approaches to method development and research, as well as fundamental theoretical work in the broad field of museum education. In her lecture, Nora Sternfeld discussed the relationship between theory and art education, while Markus Waitschacher presented the current state of research in his ongoing dissertation project on the educational method “Der Chinesische Korb” (The Chinese Basket), developed in the early 1980s by Heiderose Hildebrand, a pioneer in museum education.
     

• Summer Semester 2025

  • Secrets to Academic Success. Workshop with Prof. Dr. Roy Grundmann (Boston University), organized by Marie Dücker. Location: University of Graz. April 29, 2025

    The workshop “Secrets to Academic Success” offered doctoral students and postdocs valuable insights into shaping academic careers. Ten key discussion points sparked an open and productive exchange on topics such as publication strategies, professional networking, and dealing with imposter syndrome. Due to its success and high participation, the participants recommended institutionalizing the workshop and expanding it to two sessions in the future.
     

• Winter Semester 2024

  • The (in)visibility of social housing Robin Hood Gardens in London: Annette Kisling's photographic approach to disappearing architecture. Lecture and roundtable discussion with Annette Kisling, organized by Nassim Balestrini in cooperation with Camera Austria and Forum Stadtpark. Location: Forum Stadtpark, Graz. November 14, 2024

    At the event, Annette Kisling presented her photographic work on Robin Hood Gardens, a social housing complex in London that has been undergoing extensive change since 2015. Kisling documented the architectural changes and reflected on the significance of architecture and photography as media that make spaces and their transformation visible. In an exchange with panel participants from the fields of curating, cultural studies, and cultural anthropology, questions about the representation, reception, and interpretation of architecture and photography were discussed in depth.
     

  • Pierre Bourdieu’s photographs in Algeria and the Bourdieu photo archive. Workshop with Christine Frisinghelli, organized by Judith Laister in cooperation with Camera Austria. Location: Camera Austria, Graz. November 7, 2024 

    In this workshop, Christine Frinsinghelli presented the comprehensive archive of Pierre Bourdieu's photographs at Camera Austria, along with background information on it. In addition, individual photographs were analyzed together with the doctoral students and placed in the context of the time as well as in relation to the doctoral students' projects.