Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Institut für Europäische Ethnologie

I am Junior Professor of Social Anthropology at the Institute for European Ethnology working across the Institute for European Ethnology and Hermannn von Helmholtz Centre for Cultural Techniques (HZK). My work focuses on material and visual culture, and critical heritage studies. I have conducted long-term ethnographic fieldwork in Romania and the UK, as well as projects in Italy and Poland. Drawing on ethnographic research in the waterscapes of Sardinia, I am currently developing a new research agenda focused on wetland heritage and the connections between social and environmental justice.

As part of the Amo Collective Berlin, I work on developing research-based, collaborative artistic and curatorial formats of decolonial scholarly and urban practice. Prior to my academic research, I have worked in applied anthropology in the private and the museum sector, and I am particularly interested in developing new modes of ethnographic writing and exhibition making. 

In addition to my HU work, I am a vice-chair and German hub coordinator of the TRACTS Cost Action on Traces as Research Agenda for Climate Change, Technology Studies and Social Justice. As part of this network, I co-authored "Practising Collection Ethics: A Toolkit for Museum and Archive Professionals" and co-edited "Unearthing Collections: Archives, Time and Ethics" (forthcoming with UCL Press). 

I work across academic and curatorial practice, and collaborate with a range of institutions in research and teaching, including Museum of European Cultures in Berlin, DHMD - German Hygiene Museum, Ethnological Museum in Berlin and Weltmuseum in Vienna.   

My past co-curated exhibitions include:

• Revisiting Romania: Dress and Identity at the Horniman Museum in London reimagined a 1950s museum collection through ethnographic research
• Forging Folklore, Disrupting Archives at Constance Howard Gallery in London worked to remediate textile collections through critical art interventions

• Learning City: A Self-Portrait at Coexist Gallery, Hamilton House in Bristol brought together contributions from a range of partners such as Barton Hill Settlement, Countering Colston, Dhek Bhal, Easton Community Centre, Bristol Bike Project, Coexist Community Kitchen, Refugee Women of Bristol, St Mungo's, Workers' Educational Association and Wild Walks for Wellbeing as well as artists Eleanor Shipman, Joff Winterhart and Biggerhouse Film 

I am also passionate about disability justice and play an active role in the IfEE Collective Access group. 

I joined the HU as an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow in 2019 after a postdoctoral project on learning cities at the University of Bristol. Originally trained in anthropology (Goldsmiths College) and critical heritage studies (UCL), I have previously taught at Goldsmiths, Bristol Doctoral School and Imperial College London.

Research areas 

• material and visual culture
• collection research
• heritage and museum ethnography
• memory, heritage politics and activism
• making, craft, knowledge production
• trace as epistemological, ethical and methodological challenge
• making and ways of knowing
• informal learning, affect and care
• curatorial practice

Office hours

Office hours are held on Fridays from 9-11h during the term. Please arrange an appointment by email and specify the length of the meeting.

Teaching

In the winter and summer semesters 2024/2025, I am coordinating the Master Studienprojekt "Overloaded! Inter-imperial Entanglements of Material and Photographic Collections in Berlin and Vienna" co-taught with dr. Hanin Hannouch, Curator for Analog & Digital Media (Photo/Audio/Film) at Weltmuseum Wien & Anna Szöke, Research Coordinator of the "Collaborative Museum" project at the Ethnologisches Museum/Museum für Asiatische Kunst.

More info here. 

Supervision

I am interested in supervising BA, MA and PhD students in the fields highlighted above. For enquiries, please email a research outline to magdalena.buchczyk@hu-berlin.de