Ruth Amstutz

Ruth Amstutz, MA, is a Researcher and Academic staff member at the University of Lucerne, affiliated with the Department of Cultural and Science Studies within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is a PhD Candidate in the SNF Sinergia Project “In the Shadow of the Tree: The Diagrammatics of Relatedness as Scientific, Scholarly, and Popular Practice.” Her research explores discourses around multiraciality and hybridity in human population genetics and the humanities, focusing on the role of diagrams, visualizations, and metaphors in shaping knowledge about human genetic diversity.

Amstutz holds a Master’s Degree from the Universities of Lucerne, Zurich, and Université du Québec à Montréal (2019). Her background includes a career in graphic design, art direction, and project management, highlighted by the 2013 Design Prize Switzerland for her work on the magazine Reportagen. Her interdisciplinary research interests bridge philosophy, science studies, feminist theory, and visual culture.

Her current project investigates how genetic admixture and diversity are conceptualized through diagrammatic tools and how this knowledge intersects with philosophical debates on race. She engages with questions of representation, visualization, and the socio-ontological implications of scientific practices.

• Key Awards: Design Prize Switzerland (2013)

Amstutz’s work contributes to critical discussions on race, science, and representation, emphasizing the interplay between scientific methodologies and cultural narratives.