Young Academy for Cultures and Societies Research (YAC)

About YAC

The Young Academy for Cultures and Societies Research (YAC) was established as part of the Freiburg Postdoctoral Academy (FPA). It aims to advance the careers of early career researchers by providing them with autonomy, creative freedom, access to international networks, peer mentoring, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Members receive personal and group research budgets, are supported in their projects, reflecting one of the key research areas of the University of Freiburg: Languages of Knowledge.

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Contact

For further details please contact

karolin.viseneber@frias.uni-freiburg.de

+49 761 203 – 97321

Group pictures of the 10 members Young Academy for Cultures and Societies Research

Members of YAC

The Young Academy for Cultures and Societies Research (YAC) is composed of postdoctoral researchers from various disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences. This page provides an overview of the current members and their academic backgrounds.

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Projects

YAC projects are the result of shared decision-making and the autonomy of their members in selecting and developing initiatives. Designed to span various academic disciplines, these projects foster collaborative research within the Academy’s theme: ‘The Good Life – What Makes a Good Society?’. Members meet regularly, both in person at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies and virtually, to discuss progress, exchange ideas, and plan future endeavours.

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Close-up of a collaborative workshop board covered with colorful circular sticky notes connected by blue hand-drawn lines, showing handwritten keywords such as ‘Post-isms,’ ‘vulnerability,’ ‘science communication,’ and ‘activism’.

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Group of researchers at the CEEISA Conference 2026 in Sarajevo.

Marija Radoman and Cornelia Baciu (YAC Members 2025/28) led a series of workshops and panels to investigate the emotional dimensions of ontological security at the CEEISA Conference 2026 in Sarajevo. These activities are part of their YAC Project on Emotions, Ontological Security and Social Order.

Close-up of a book cover with a teal background and a detailed anatomical illustration of a human head and neck, highlighting nerves and internal structures. White text reads “Poetiken der Verletzbarkeit,” with smaller text above naming the editors Aglaia Kister and Cornelia Pierstorff, and below indicating the theme of violence, affects, and resistance in the 20th and 21st centuries. The publisher De Gruyter appears at the top.

Cornelia Pierstorff (YAC Member 2025/28) has published an edited volume on the poetics of vulnerabilty. With vulnerability being a key concept of our time, the volume explores the knowledge that literature offers on vulnerability at the intersection of emotion, violence, and resistance.

Julius Fenn (YAC Member  2025/2028) has published two articles, one in Frontiers in Robotics and AI and the other in Biomimetics. The first examines how lay‑persons evaluate soft versus rigid socially assistive and rescue robots, while the second investigates whether different framings shape the perception of bio‑inspired technologies.

Anna-Lena Oldehus (YAC Member 2025/28) has published an article in The Journal of Sound and Culture and a book review in Literatur in Wissenschaft und Unterricht.

Ozan Altan Altinok (YAC Member 2025/28) has published an article in Science & Technology Studies. He examines the limitations of current universalist governance models in international scientific collaborations.

Marija Radoman (YAC Member 2025/28) has been selected for 2026 as a Senior Fellow at the Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies (BrIAS). She takes part in the programme: Democratic Governance: Challenges and Innovations.

Cornelia Baciu (YAC Member 2025/2028) has published an article in The Hague Journal of Diplomacy. She examines how emotions and the quest for ontological security shape the behavior and self-presentation of states in diplomatic contexts.

Katharina Stein (YAC Member 2025/2028) spricht im Podcast DOING TIME, TALKING CRIME des Max-Planck-Instituts zur Erforschung von Kriminalität, Sicherheit und Recht über das Thema “Söldner 2.0: Wenn Staaten ihr Gewaltmonopol outsourcen“

During our first digital YAC meeting on 8 January 2026 we welcomed guest speaker Ina Kühne (University of Siegen). In her talk, “Representations of the environment, violence and illness in the Latin American eco‑thriller”, she gave us fruitful insights into the particular features of eco‑fiction from the 1990s onwards, covering ecocriticism and green criminology.

Katharina Stein (YAC Member2025/2028) gave an interview about the topic: Privatizing War. The Past or Future of Armed Conflicts?

Elisabetta Ferrari (YAC Member 2025/28) talks about her 2024 published monograph “Appropriate, negotiate, challenge: Activist imaginaries and the politics of digital technologies” in the New Books Network Podcast.

FRIAS-Direktor Ralf von den Hoff spricht in der Badischen Zeitung über die wissenschaftliche Freiheit der YAC, deren Mitglieder zu der Frage forschen, was ein gutes Leben und eine gute Gesellschaft ausmacht.

Ina Kuhn (YAC Member 2025/28) erforscht die kulturellen Hintergründe der Abstinenz von Alkohol. In der Badischen Zeitung gibt sie sieben Ratschläge, wie ein Leben ohne Alkohol gelingen kann.

A stylized line drawing of a person with fingers in their ears, set against a yellow and blue gradient background. The person’s eyes are covered by a rectangular patch showing part of Henri Matisse’s painting La Danse, depicting blue figures dancing in a circle.

Anna-Lena Oldehus (YAC Member 2025/28) lädt zur Konferenz “Emanzipative Erotik – Begehren, Körperlichkeit und soziale Transformation in Texten und Künsten seit dem 19. Jahrhundert” am FRIAS ein.

The new members of the Young Academy for Cultures and Societies Research (YAC) share insights on their research and motivations in a series of mini-interviews on Instagram.

At the opening of the Young Academy for Cultures and Societies Research (YAC) and the academic year 2025/26, Racha Kirakosian delivered an inspiring keynote speech entitled “Money, Morals, and Merit: A Medieval Take on the (Im)Possibilities of Integrity.”

Opening of the new Young Academy for Cultures and Societies Research (YAC), which will explore the topic “The Good Life – What Makes a Good Society” over the next three years.