About
Stefan Rabitsch is an Associate Professor in American Studies with the Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages (ILOS) at the University of Oslo, Norway. His academic work bridges cultural studies, cultural history, and popular culture with a focus on audio-visual media including television, film, and video games, as well as comics and graphic novels.
- Position: Associate Professor
- Institution: University of Oslo, Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages (ILOS)
- Contact: stefan.rabitsch@ilos.uio.no | Room NT 717
Rabitsch's educational journey began from a working-class background as a "first gen" college student studying English and American Studies at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria, with a semester abroad at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His PhD centered on the transatlantic double consciousness in Star Trek's worldbuilding, followed by postdoctoral work at the University of Graz that evolved into his monograph project on the cultural history of cowboy hats, which is under contract with University of Oklahoma Press. He also held a Fulbright visiting scholarship at the Center for the Study of the American West at West Texas A&M in 2019.
Rabitsch's research interests span American cultural studies and cultural history with particular focus on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century America, popular culture, and audiovisual media. His work explores the intersections of the American West, science fiction (particularly Star Trek), country music, and entrepreneurial culture. He approaches American Studies through historical and historiographic literacy combined with critical media literacy, emphasizing how narrative forms shape our understanding of the world. His specific interests include nineteenth-century American westward expansion, New Western History, livestock economies, remediations of historical topoi in popular media, American presidential history, and fan studies.
Analysis of Rabitsch's recent publications reveals a consistent focus on the American West, Star Trek, and the intersection of popular culture with historical narratives. His work demonstrates how contemporary media like television series (Yellowstone), video games, and comics reinterpret historical themes and myths. A significant thread throughout his scholarship is the examination of how American cultural narratives travel internationally and are reinterpreted in different contexts, such as his work on teaching the American West in Norwegian settings. He frequently examines how Western iconography (particularly cowboy hats) functions as cultural symbols and how science fiction narratives engage with American historical consciousness.
- Fulbright visiting scholarship (2019)
- Co-Director of the Dress and Body Association (since 2022)
- Co-Founder of the "West of the Rest" research network (since 2022)
- Founding member and president of the Austrian Association for Cultural Studies (since 2021)
- Official Country Representative for the Science Fiction Research Association (since 2019)
Rabitsch serves in multiple leadership roles including Co-Director of the Dress and Body Association, Co-Founder of the "West of the Rest" research network, and Founding member and president of the Austrian Association for Cultural Studies. He co-founded "ENGLABS at the movies," an initiative that brings together scholars and students to watch and discuss films related to British and American culture. His teaching approach emphasizes creating classroom environments focused equally on in-class work and extramural impact, challenging students to develop historical literacy and critical media skills through popular culture entry points. His notable lectures include "Petasus Americanus, or a Cultural History of Cowboy Hats," "Entrepreneurship as Popular National Storytelling Tradition," and "Playing [with] the West: Teaching, Research, and Video Games."
