The Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences promotes innovative, excellent, problem-oriented research that aspires to contribute to societal debates and address key global challenges.

The cohorts trained and supported by the ViDSS are part of a vibrant research environment and international networks. The ViDSS encompasses and fosters connections between a broad range of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives. The ViDSS embraces the entire range of epistemological, methodological and theoretical approaches that are employed at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Doctoral candidates receive research training and write a doctoral thesis in the fields of communication, demography, development studies, nursing science, political science, science and technology studies, social and cultural anthropology, and sociology. The ViDSS aims for the highest standards in doctoral training and close supervision to ensure a mastery of social scientific debates and relevant theories and methods. As a result, ViDSS graduates are highly employable both within and outside academia.

News
 

We are deeply saddened by the passing of our cherished colleague Cornelia Staritz on 3 July 2025. Professor Staritz was part of ViDSS since its inception and her many contributions to the running of the doctoral school were pivotal in shaping its direction and profile.
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Media articles and press releases
 

ViDSS Student David Buchwinkler (development studies) reports on Malaysia’s aquacultures for the Rudolphina series “Road Trip”. David spent almost five months in Sabah, Malaysia’s northernmost state, to analyse the ecological and social impact of the shrimp farms established there in 2010.

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Fellowship and award winners
 

Sociologist and ViDSS Alumna Christina Siegert was awarded the Theodor Körner Prize for her doctoral thesis “Poverty risk within couples across the family life course”. Her work sheds light on income inequality and the risk of poverty among heterosexual couples. Congratulations!
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Fellowship and award winners
 

ViDSS Alumna Ruta Kaskelviciute was awarded the Kyoon Hur Dissertation Award by the Mass Communication Division of the International Communication Association for her doctoral thesis “Perceptions and effects of mediated terrorism: An intergroup approach”. Congratulations!
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Media articles and press releases
 

While the international system of states is based on a set of rules that the world imposed on itself after World War II, fewer and fewer states believe in the promise of peace offered by a rules-based order. In the Tiroler Tageszeitung, Adham Hamed discusses the international order, double standards and the arms race against the backdrop of current developments in the Middle East. (In German)
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Media articles and press releases
 

Italy’s involvement in WWII is contentious and complex and so are the stories created around it, which have been instrumentalised for various political purposes over time. A study by ViDSS Student Marta Vukovic (co-authored with Susanna Bastaroli and Sylvia Kritzinger) investigates Italians’ perception of Italy’s Fascist past and role in WWII on an individual level.
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Blog
 

(by Birte Leonhardt, Folker Hanusch, Shailendra B. Singh)

The role of journalism in society is shaped not only by professional norms but also by deeply held cultural values. This is particularly evident in the Pacific Islands region, where journalists operate in media environments that are often small, tight-knit and embedded within traditional communities. Our survey of journalists across ...
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Radio and podcast
 

Felix Maile and Dorota Vargová provide insights into their experiences with archives and data bases. Learn about the extraordinary lengths they had to go to chase primary sources, which ethical questions they have to deal with and why they are not using any AI tools for their analyses.
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Media articles and press releases
 

A study conducted by ViDSS Student Rinat Meerson (co-authored with Kevin Koban and Jörg Matthes) examines how exposure to digital hate affects social media users. The findings show that frequent exposure to hate leads to more direct intervention such as commenting or countering but reduces the willingness to rely on moderation.
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New publications by ViDSS students

Showing entries 21 - 40 out of 58
Artificial presence, real-life influence? Effects of CGI influencers on young adults’ health behavior intentions. / Saumer, Melanie; Neureiter, Ariadne; Varga, Édua Mária et al.
In: Cyberpsychology : Journal of Psychological Research in Cyberspace, Vol. 19, No. 2, 3, 22.04.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Die Jugend von heute? Malschinger, Paul (Other role). 2025. ORF Ö1.

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

Local journalists and the construction of social identities. A phenomenological approach. / Garusi, Diego (Corresponding author); Juarez Miro, Clara; Hanusch, Folker.
In: Journalism, 14.04.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Geschlecht methodologisch: „Wissen ist Macht!“. / Grenz, Sabine; Gül, Elif.
Geschlechtersoziologie. ed. / Eva Tolasch; Anna Buschmeyer; Sabine Grenz; Carolin Küppers. 1. ed. Paderborn: Brill Ferdinand Schöningh, 2025. (Soziologie im 21. Jahrhundert).

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter

Trans*sensible Praxisgestaltung. / Ihrig, Felix Lene.
In: JATROS Gynäkologie & Geburtshilfe, No. 2, 04.2025, p. 6-7.

Publications: Other contribution to periodical › Newspaper/Magazine article

Scheidung aus Sicht der Kinder. Radio Vorarlberg, Focus. Parisot, Viktoria (Other role). 2025. ORF Radio Vorarlberg.

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Radio show

Author Correction: A transdisciplinary, comparative analysis reveals key risks from Arctic permafrost thaw. / Gartler, Susanna (Corresponding author); Scheer, Johanna (Corresponding author); Meyer, Alexandra et al.
In: Communications Earth & Environment, Vol. 6, No. 1, 234, 25.03.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Correction › Peer Reviewed

The Interplay of Poverty and Employment Trajectories in Couples Around the Transition to Parenthood in Germany. / Siegert, Christina.
In: SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research, Vol. 2025, No. 1220, 03.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article

Mainstreaming and transnationalization of anti-gender ideas through social media: the case of CitizenGO. / Righetti, Nicola (Corresponding author); Kulichkina, Aytalina; Paroni, Bruna Almeida et al.
In: Information, Communication & Society, 22.02.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Affective politics and neoliberal subjectivities in ‘left behind’ places: Counter-narrating regional decline within/from Finland’s ‘Capital of Pessimism’. / Gansauer, Grete; Lilius, Johanna; Adams, Ria-Maria.
In: Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 19.02.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Time to BeReal! Exploring users' well-being in relation to BeReal use duration. / Kanková, Jaroslava; Stevic, Anja; Binder, Alice et al.
In: New Media & Society, 19.02.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

A transdisciplinary, comparative analysis reveals key risks from Arctic permafrost thaw. / Gartler, Susanna (Corresponding author); Scheer, Johanna (Corresponding author); Meyer, Alexandra (Corresponding author) et al.
In: Communications Earth & Environment, Vol. 6, 21, 16.01.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Für eine dekoloniale Wende in der Wissenschaft: blog interdisziplinäre geschlechterforschung. Bauer, Dominique (Author); Paredes Grijalva, Daniela (Corresponding author). 2025.

Publications: Electronic/multimedia output › Web publication

Listen to me! Target perceptions of digital hate: A scoping review of recent research. / Khaleghipour, Maryam (Corresponding author); Koban, Kevin; Matthes, Jörg.
In: Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 04.01.2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

LOCAL INITIATIVES IN SHRINKING CITIES: On Normative Framings and Hidden Aspirations in Scholarly Work. / Sandmann, Leona (Corresponding author); Gunko, Maria (Corresponding author); Shirobokova, Irina (Corresponding author) et al.
In: International Journal for Urban and Regional Research, Vol. 49, No. 1, 01.2025, p. 214-223.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Betonieren, Versiegeln, Verbauen - über ein Straßenbauprojekt mitten in der Klimakrise. / Kolb, Petra.
In: Politix : Zeitschrift des Instituts für Politikwissenschaft, Vol. 53, 2025, p. 38-42.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Die SPÖ und das Auto. / Kolb, Petra; Greß, Johannes.
In: Augustin. Die erste österreichische Boulevardzeitung, 2025.

Publications: Other contribution to periodical › Newspaper/Magazine article

Ektogenese als feministische Utopie? Potenziale der Dekonstruktion von Geschlecht. / Beck, Celina.
In: Medien & Zeit: Kommunikation in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, 2025.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Fem-vertised and fem-washed advertising on Instagram: How do they affect the attitude towards the brand and purchase intention? / Noronha dos Reis, Iara (Corresponding author); Harm, Katharina; Saumer, Melanie et al.
Advances in advertising research XIII: Frontiers of advertising: Re-considering its shapes and forms. ed. / Daria Gunina; Martin K. J. Waiguny. 1. ed. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2025. p. 145-159 (European Advertising Academy).

Publications: Contribution to book › Chapter

From Crisis Governance to Electoral Normality and the Longest Coalition Negotiations: The 2024 Austrian Parliamentary Election. / Scharrer, Manuel; Gahn, Christina; Bernhard-Harrer, Jana et al.
In: West European Politics, 2025, p. 1-20.

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Showing entries 21 - 40 out of 58