Hannah Kanz

Dr. Hannah Kanz is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology at the University of Freiburg. Her research focuses on disconnection practices, digital detox, media abstinence, and parenting culture. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Innsbruck and has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork on practices of disconnection in digital detox camps. Kanz has supervised several projects, including the social media team for her institute's Instagram channel and a project on knowledge communication in social media. She is an active member of interdisciplinary research collectives like the KULA Games Collective, co-developing collaborative knowledge-sharing tools such as the 'KULT' card game.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology (University of Freiburg, 2025)
• Master's in European Ethnology (University of Innsbruck, 2018)
• Bachelor's in European Ethnology and History (University of Innsbruck & Queen's University Belfast, 2015-2017)

Research Interests: Kanz explores how individuals navigate digital disconnection through ethnographic studies of detox camps, feature phones, and media abstinence movements. Her work bridges cultural anthropology with technology studies, examining practices of 'de-networking' and their societal implications. Recent projects include analyzing AI's role in cultural research education and collaborative multimodal ethnography methods.

Awards:

• State Prize for Best Master's Thesis in Austria (2018)
• Rotary Club Innsbruck Scholarship (2020)
• Baden-Württemberg Didactics Certificate (2024)

Advising & Grants: Supervised social media initiatives (2021-2024), co-authored grant proposals for digital ethnography projects, and participated in funded research on disconnection studies. Currently leads projects on offline spaces and digital futures.

Labs/Teams: Co-founder of the KULA Games Collective, contributor to the institute's podcast 'Sensitiv. Podcast on Digital Cultural Research', and active in public science outreach through lectures and radio features.