Alix Heiniger

Alix Heiniger is an active Assistant Professor in the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Fribourg's Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences. Her research spans social history, gender studies, and transnational prison systems with significant contributions to Swiss historical scholarship.

• PhD from University of Neuchâtel (2015)
• Postdoctoral work at Maurice Halbwachs Center (Paris) and Columbia University
• SNSF Eccellenza grant recipient for transnational prison history project
• Current leadership of major FNS-funded research on Swiss prison systems (1820-1980)

Her research focuses on the gendered dimensions of social protection systems, with particular expertise in philanthropy networks (Geneva, Paris, London, New York circa 1900), prison labor controversies, and anti-fascist resistance movements. Recent work analyzes transnational prison reform through regional case studies including Bellechasse, Hindelbank, and Witzwil facilities. She employs comparative methodologies examining how carceral spaces reflect broader societal norms while facilitating unexpected circulations across institutional boundaries.

Professor Heiniger's publications reveal consistent engagement with marginalized populations—particularly women in confinement systems and political dissidents. Her 37 publications demonstrate methodological range across archival research, transnational comparison, and gender analysis. Current projects examine continuities between historical administrative internment and modern security measures.

• Member: Swiss Society for Economic and Social History Committee
• Editorial Board: Nouvelles questions féministes
• Reading Committee: Histoire & Mesure
• Foundation Board: Collège du Travail (Geneva)

She directs the SNSF-funded 'Prison Space and Circulation' project mentoring doctoral candidates Anouk Essyad (international prison reform) and Cézane Beretta (gender relations in sentencing). Current research examines six representative Swiss prisons through four analytical lenses: transnational reform networks, gender dynamics, demographic statistics, and prison economics. Her work bridges historical analysis with contemporary debates on social control mechanisms.