Research Interests
Degrowth and climate justice; Social movements; Post-socialism; food sovereignty, semi-subsistence farming and agriculture; Political economy and political ecology in Eastern Europe; Social metabolism and sufficiency politics.
Research within the Junior Research group
Main focus:
Qualitative case study about the semi-subsistence agriculture in Estonia (module A4)
In cooperation with the group:
A qualitative typology and analyses of the case studies (module A5)
Theory and Synthesis (module D)
Contact
Vita
Since 2019
Researcher and PhD candidate at the Institute for Sociology at Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
2019-2020
Project coordinator und consultant in the Policy Consulting department at eclareon GmbH.
Since 2017
Research assistant and platform coordinator and since 2018 board member at the association Förderverein Wachstumswende
2017
Junior Research Fellow at the Institute for Political Ecology in Zagreb (HR)
2016-2017
Project coordination at netzwerk n e.V. in an Eastern European project on ESD
2014
Staff member at a MoP Katrin Werner in German Bundestag (Program International Parliament Scholarship)
2012-2016
Master of European Studies at European University Viadrina with a research phase at the University of Tartu (European College) (EE)
2009-2012
Bachelor Cultural Studies at European University Viadrina with exchange semester at the University of Sevilla (ES)
Academic Teaching
WiSe 2022/23: „Nachhaltigkeit und gesellschaftliche Transformation“, Colloquium at the FSU Jena, online (with Dennis Eversberg, Martin Fritz, Philip Koch, Matthias Schmelzer)
WiSe 2021/22: „Nachhaltigkeit und gesellschaftliche Transformation“, Colloquium at the FSU Jena, online (with Dennis Eversberg, Martin Fritz, Jana Holz, Judith Kiss, Philip Koch, Matthias Schmelzer)
SoSe 2021, „Kontroversen gesellschaftlicher Naturverhältnisse alter und neuer Bioökonomien“ (Seminar for B.A.-students, online), Institut für Soziologie, FSU Jena (with Jana Holz)
SoSe 2021: „Nachhaltigkeit und gesellschaftliche Transformation“, Colloquium at the FSU Jena, online (with Dennis Eversberg, Martin Fritz, Jana Holz, Judith Kiss, Philip Koch, Matthias Schmelzer, Anne Stein)
WiSe 2019/20. „Bourdieu meets Greta Thunberg: Grundlagen der sozial-ökologischen Mentalitätsforschung“, Seminar for sociology Master-students at the FSU Jena (with Dennis Eversberg, Martin Fritz, Jana Holz, Matthias Schmelzer)
WiSe 2019/20: „Nachhaltigkeit und gesellschaftliche Transformation“, Colloquium at the FSU Jena (with Dennis Eversberg, Martin Fritz, Jana Holz, Philip Koch, Matthias Schmelzer)
Publications
2023. “Dachas and food democracy—What makes a (good) food citizen?” Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1052298 (open access)
2023. “Dachas for Future – the importance of the allotment gardeners in Sillamäe for a fossil-free future
Report on two transfer activities in Eastern Estonia.” Transfer Report, February 2023. https://www.flumen.uni-jena.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Bericht-Sillamaee_english_final.pdf
[with Judith Kiss]
2023. “Invisible (bio) economies: a framework to assess the ‘blind spots’ of dominant bioeconomy models.“ Sustainability Science, 1-18, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01292-6 (open access)
2022. “The bioeconomy and its untenable growth promises: reality checks from research.” Sustainability Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01237-5 (open access) [with Dennis Eversberg and Jana Holz]
2022. “Same, Same but Different? The ‘Right’ Kind of Gardening and the Negotiation of Neoliberal
Urban Governance in the Post-socialist City”, In: Plüschke-Altof, Bianka & Sooväli-Sepping, Helen (Ed.): Whose Green City? Contested Urban Green Spaces and Environmental Justice in Northern Europe. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04636-0_7 [with Bianka Plüschke-Altof, Anni Müüripeal, and Helen Sooväli-Sepping]
2022. “Who stewards whom? A paradox spectrum of human–nature relationships of Estonian dacha gardeners” Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, http://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2022.2095990
2022. Special Issue: “Promises of growth and sustainability in the bioeconomy” Sustainable Production and Consumption 31/2022. [with Dennis Eversberg, Martin Fritz and Sandra Venghaus]
2021. Editorial to the Special Issue: “Promises of growth and sustainability in the bioeconomy” Sustainable Production and Consumption 31/2022, 839–841. [with Dennis Eversberg and Martin Fritz]
2021. „Mentalities Matter. Sozial-ökologische Mentalitäten und ihre Bedeutung in post-fossilen Transformationen“. Working Paper No. 5, Mentalitäten im Fluss (flumen), Jena. DOI (10.22032/dbt.49142) [with Eversberg, Dennis, Martin Fritz, Jana Holz, Philip Koch, and Matthias Schmelzer]
2021. „Degrowth-Enthusiasmus und der Transformations-Blues des Ostens: Überlegungen zur Integration postsozialistischer Transformationserfahrungen in den transformatorischen Postwachstumsdiskurs”, In: Thomas, Michael & Ulrich Busch (Ed.), Streitfall Ostdeutschland. Grenzen einer Transformationserzählung, [Abhandlungen der Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften, 72], Berlin: trafo Wissenschaftsverlag, 229-256. (with Jana Gebauer and Gerrit von Jorck)
2020. „Caring dachas – Food self-provisioning in Eastern Europe through the lens of care“, in: Nelson, A., Edwards, F. (Ed.): Food for Degrowth. Perspectives and Practices. Routledge, London & New York, pp. 59-74.
2020. „Mental Models of Sustainability: The Degrowth Doughnut Model.“ In: Goldstein, M.I., DellaSala, D.A. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the World’s Biomes, 5, pp. 276–286.
(with Domazet, M., Rilović, A., Ančić, B., Andersen, B., Richardson, L., Brajdić Vuković, M., Medak, T.)
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.12143-8
2019. “Von ostdeutschen Transformationserfahrungen lernen” In: Blog Postwachstum. (with Jana Gebauer, Gerrit von Jorck)
https://www.postwachstum.de/author/jana-gebauer-gerrit-von-jorck-und-lilian-pungas
2019. “Food Self-Provisioning as an Answer to the Metabolic Rift: The Case of ‘Dacha Resilience’ in Estonia.” Journal of Rural Studies, 68, pp. 75-86
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743016718306272?dgcid=author
2019. “Tarbimispidu põlevas majas.” Müürileht 2019/3.
https://www.muurileht.ee/tarbimispidu-polevas-majas/
2017. “Soziale Kosten der ökonomischen Transformation in Estland – der Preis des Wachstumsparadigmas.“ Ost Journal 2017/01: pp. 10-19.
http://www.ost-journal.de/1362-2soziale-kosten-der-oekonomischen-transformation-in-estland/
2017. “Mis on ühist Hiinalinnal, Tempelhofi lennuväljal ja Valgel Majal?” Müürileht 2017/10.
https://www.muurileht.ee/mis-on-uhist-hiinalinnal-tempelhofi-lennuvaljal-ja-valgel-majal/
Lectures (Selection)
2021. Same, Same but Different? The ‘right’ kind of gardening and the negotiation of neoliberal urban governance in the post-socialist city. Lecture with Bianka Plüschke-Altof at BALTEHUMS II, Second Baltic Conference on the Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences, 2021 November 01.
2021. Forest for Sale!? ‘Success’ of Extractivist Forestry in Estonia and Finland. Lecture with Jana Holz at the „EXALT“ conference, University Helsinki, 2021 October 26.
2021. Lecture and workshops on Degrowth at the conference „1,5-Grad-Ziel – Welche Hebel wirken schnell und effektiv?“ of Evangelischen Akademie Tutzing, 2021 October 01-03.
2021. Diverse Economies and Food Democracy: Who stewards whom? Care and stewardship in working with the soil. Lecture at the digital conference „Gut versorgt aus der Region? Bedürfnisorientierung in regionalen Ernährungssystemen“, 2021 July 24.
2021. Socio-ecological mentalities within the semi-subsistence urban agriculture in Estonia. Lecture at the Manchester ISEE & ESEE & Degrowth conference, 2021 July 05-08.
2020. “Ackern unter Hochspannungsleitungen
und neben Ölschieferwerken in Estland”, Lecture at the Institute for Political Research at the University of Vienna. 2020 November 26. More Info here.
2019. Ackern unter Hochspannungsleitungen und neben Ölschieferwerken in Estland. Lecture at the Institute for Political Research at the University Vienna. 2019 November 11.