Cora Bender

PD Dr. Cora Bender serves as an Associate Professor at the Institute of Social Anthropology within the Center for Media and Modernity Research (MeMo) at the University of Cologne, where her office is located at Liliencronstr. 6, 2.04, 50931 Cologne. Her academic profile centers on critical examinations of media practices, indigenous sovereignty, and the historical foundations of anthropological thought, particularly concerning Native North American communities.

Her research program investigates tribal sovereignty through food systems in Upper Midwest Indigenous communities, indigenous media history, and the colonial legacy in anthropological knowledge production. Key methodological contributions appear in her co-edited Handbuch der Medienethnographie (2015), establishing frameworks for analyzing boundary objects in cultural transmission and media ethnography.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2014-2025) reveals three dominant trajectories: (1) Historical anthropology critiques through figures like Hortense Powdermaker and Dorothy Lee; (2) Contemporary indigenous sovereignty studies focusing on food security and media practices; (3) Theoretical interventions in boundary object theory and post-frontier cultural production. Her 2025 chapter "Collageable Lives" exemplifies this synthesis by re-examining Julius and Eva Lips' work through decolonial lenses.

Scientific Awards: No awards are documented in the provided institutional profile.

Advising and Grants: The University of Cologne profile does not reference doctoral advisees, research grants, or supervisory activities.

Dr. Bender maintains active collaboration within the Center for Media and Modernity Research (MeMo), contributing to interdisciplinary projects examining media's role in cultural transformation, particularly regarding indigenous knowledge systems and post-colonial identity formation in North American contexts.