Esther Mandl

Esther Mandl graduated in 2009 from the University of Vienna with a degree in cultural and social anthropology. Her first research experience was with the EU project KASS - Kinship and Social Security (2004-2006). The results of the project were reflected in her thesis, where she analysed the cultural construction of “oldness”, with a special focus on gender and the body. During her studies she participated in various field related internships at different institutions including the Vienna Museum of Ethnology (2004), the University of Vienna (2006) and the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Research and Continuous Education (IFF Klagenfurt-Graz-Vienna) (2007-2008).

PhD Project
My Surgery Journey - Negotiating Gender, Violence and Agency in Surgery Video Blogs on YouTube

Media link culture and society McLuhan has theorized in the 1960ies, therefore media do not only distance us but can connect us very deeply. Especially the social platforms of the web 2.0 offer many possibilities of linking to each other creating new forms of communities, leading to new forms of self awareness. In my PhD project I do an ethnography of YouTube culture by looking at video blogs about different forms of surgeries (e.g.: gender assignment surgery, plastic surgery). I would like to understand how the new medium of communication allows for new concepts of gender, violence and agency.

Contact
Email: esther.mandl [at] univie.ac.at
Phone: + 43 (0) 1 4277 - 49468