Mirko
Winkel

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Mirko Winkel is the coordinator of the mLAB. The artist and curator teaches at the University of Bern and other places with the aim of synthesizing art with scientific research and socio-political concerns.

Susan
Thieme

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Susan Thieme is professor of Critical Sustainability Studies at the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern. She brought the Global Science Film Festival to Bern and co-developed the Social Learning Video Method. She is co-founder of the mLAB.  MORE

Carolin
Schurr

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Carolin Schurr is professor of Social and Cultural Geography at the University of Bern. As a feminist geographer, she has developed and experimented with affectual and visual methods to grasp the emotional effects of globalization processes on our intimate lives. She is co-founder of the mLAB.  MORE

Alexander
Vorbrugg

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Alexander Vorbrugg is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in Critical Sustainability Studies at the University of Bern. His research interests include visual forms of research and science communication. He is part of the coordination group of the mLAB. MORE

Laura
Perler

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Laura Perler is a postdoctoral researcher in Social and Cultural Geography at the University of Bern. In her research she investigates inequalities in relation to reproductive technologies and the Swiss asylum system. In her projects she uses audiovisual approaches and collaborates with artists. Together with Mirko Winkel, she is currently organizing a traveling exhibition on egg donation. She is part of the coordination group of the mLAB. MORE

Adrien
Mestrot

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Adrien Mestrot is a professor in Soil Science at the University of Bern. Part of his research topics is analyzing the biogeochemistry of soils under global change to improve environmental health and food production.  MORE

Stefan
Brönnimann

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Stefan Brönnimann is a professor in Climatology at the University of Bern. His research focuses on weather and climate reconstruction, climate models, climate dynamics, effects of volcanic eruptions on climate and climate and society interactions. MORE

Sinje
Grenzdörffer

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Sinje Grenzdörffer (she/her) is a Postdoc researcher in Economic Geography and Transformation Studies at the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern. Her research explores the transformative potentials of economic practices and structures in the light of liveable presents and futures. Her focus is on transdisciplinary and transformative methods and formats of knowledge creation and scientific communication.

Prisca
Pfammatter

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Prisca Pfammatter (she/her) is a PhD student in Critical Sustainability Studies at the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern. Her research explores the experiences of queer farmworkers in Switzerland, using dance-based methodologies to examine the intersections of gender, sex, sexuality, and social sustainability in agriculture.

Sarah
Hartmann

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Sarah Hartmann is a Postdoc student in Critical Sustainability Studies at the University of Bern. Her research looks at issues around work, transnational mobilities and future transformations in healthcare from a critical sustainability perspective. MORE

Luca
Tschiderer

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Luca Tschiderer is a PhD student in Critical Sustainability Studies at the University of Bern. His research focuses on alternative practices of work in health- and care related contexts. As part of his PhD project he uses social learning videos as a participatory method towards workers inquiry. MORE

Johanna
Paschen

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Johanna Paschen is a PhD student in Critical Sustainability Studies at the University of Bern. Her research interests include social and environmental justice, transdisciplinarity and artistic research. In cooperation with the Academy of the Arts Bern, she is involved with the research project EcoArtLab. MORE

Elisabeth
Militz

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Elisabeth Militz is an Assistant Professor for Social and Digital Geographies at the University of Innsbruck. As a feminist political and cultural geographer, her focus lies on global/intimate relations and digital transformations. She experiments with affectual and feminist digital methodologies for human geographies. MORE

Nora
Komposch

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Nora Komposch is a PhD student and assistant in Social and Cultural Geography at the University of Bern. Her research interests are geographies of the body, care and reproduction, migration and labor, and politics of the global intimate. MORE

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Digital Methods
Carolin Schurr
Mirko Winkel
2025
seminar
Audio Play
intimate
borders

Intimate Borders

Seminar

In this seminar, we have explored processes of de-/bordering and how they affect everyday lives for people on both sides of the border using the case of the border between Germany and Poland. The reintroduction of border checks in 2023 ended a long period of open borders under the Schengen Agreement. Students developed small empirical research projects to study the effects the rebordering has on those living and working in the border zone. They talked to students, passengers, activists, politicians and artists both in person during a field trip to Görlitz/Zgorzelec and via online interviews to understand how the border zone, border closures, right-wing politics, migration policies and environmental destruction shape the way they love, reproduce, care, raise and educate children.

As an alternative to traditional seminar work, students produced audio features that present their research findings and reflections in accessible, creative formats. We have selected the three best audio features and are happy to present them to you here:

 

Dating Across the Border

Valeria Romang and Jan Hummel (2025) produced an audio feature exploring dating experiences along the German–Polish border. Based on street interviews in Görlitz and Zgorzelec as well as Tinder conversations, they examine how analogue and digital spaces shape dating encounters across borders. (German, Polish)

 

 

A Kita Building Bridges

Marion Heiniger, Yuma Biner, and Vera Moser (2025) produced an audio feature that offers insights into the everyday life of a kindergarten in the German–Polish border region. Through conversations with educators, the piece explores how daily encounters in early childhood education can build bridges between languages and cultures. (Swiss German, German)

 

 

Across Borders – Abortion, Resistance, and the Collective Ciocia Basia

Flavia Sidler and Anel Buchser (2025) produced an audio feature that sheds light on women’s experiences in Poland in the context of restrictive abortion laws. It highlights the transnational work of the collective Ciocia Basia, which supports those affected and makes solidarity across borders audible. (German)

 

 

 

The Abortion Pill as a Border Crosser

Aude Mettraux and Nubya Wyss (2025) produced an audio feature examining the role of abortion pills and activist networks in the Polish context. Drawing on expert interviews, the piece offers insights into the political and social dimensions of reproductive rights that transcend national borders. (German, Polish)