Franz Graf

My research is driven by an interest in ‘real people in real places at real times’ (Geertz 1988) and a passion for anthropological fieldwork. My academic journey led me to examine the revitalization of Mexican folk medicine in transcultural contexts (MA, University of Vienna & Brunel University), explore the longing for a ‘good life’ within the spiritual ecology of South West England (PhD, University of Vienna), and investigate contentious environmental perceptions at Lake Neusiedl in Northern Burgenland, my region of origin, through field schools for MA and BA students.

My motivation to conduct research in Burgenland stems from realizing the ‘meritocratic hubris’ (Sandel 2020) that accompanied my departure. By leaving home, I aimed to distance myself from the division between ‘us’ and ‘them,’ the stance against migration, and the mistrust of expert knowledge and elites. Recognizing that some answers to these sociocultural phenomena lie among the affected people, I am now part of the comparative endeavor of the MEMPOP team. I explore the nexus of populism and memory in the borderland between Hungary and Austria, explicitly taking ecological transformations into account.