Maria Fuchs

Maria Fuchs is a musicologist affiliated with the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, where she currently directs the research project Sonic Imaginaries of Africa (2024–2028). Previously, she held lecturing positions at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (2015–2023), Berlin University of the Arts, and University of Salzburg. Her academic journey includes a doctorate from the University of Vienna (2015), focused on silent film music in the Weimar Republic, and a master's degree in musicology, comparative literature, and gender studies from the University of Vienna and Freie Universität Berlin.

• Education: University of Vienna (MA, 2009), Freie Universität Berlin (MA), University of Vienna (PhD, 2015)
• Research Grants: DAAD/University of Vienna doctoral scholarships, Erwin Schrödinger Fellow (FWF, 2020–2022), FWF Elise Richter grant (2024–2028)

Fuchs' research spans three core areas: silent film music (analyzing intermedial relationships and early scoring practices), soundscapes of Heimat (exploring musical signifiers in German/Austrian regional cinema), and sonic imaginaries of Africa (critiquing colonial legacies in film soundtracks). Her work bridges media studies, postcolonial theory, and audiovisual cultural analysis.

Current projects include Sonic Imaginaries of Africa (FWF RIC 4006324), examining sound archives and colonial power in African film scoring, and Soundscapes of 'Heimat' (completed, 2020–2023), which mapped musical signatures in Heimatfilm and Bergfilm. Her publications include monographs on silent film music theory and co-edited volumes on postcolonial global music approaches.

• Key Collaborations: Lautarchiv Berlin, Royal Anthropological Institute, ifk Graz
• Methodological Focus: Archival research, transcultural analysis, critical theory of colonialism