Lea Breitsprecher

Lea Breitsprecher serves as a Scientific Associate (Researcher) at the University of Freiburg's Institute for Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology, where she has worked since July 2021 on the project "Bioeconomy as Cultural Transformation: Innovative Potentials and Societal Challenges of Future-Oriented Economic Practices" under Dr. Sarah May. Concurrently pursuing her dissertation "Material Pioneers - Realizing Bioeconomic Futures in the Packaging Industry", she was awarded the 2023 Teaching Prize for "Higher Education for Sustainable Development" for her Photovoice-based educational project.

Her academic foundation includes a Master's degree in Cultural Anthropology of European Societies (2019-2021), focusing on wood resources in violin making, alongside dual Bachelor's degrees in Art History/German Studies (2017-2019; Titian's artist image construction) and European Ethnology/Business Administration (2015-2019; Pulse of Europe protest analysis).

• Master's: Cultural Anthropology of European Societies (2019-2021)
• Bachelor's: Art History & German Studies (2017-2019)
• Bachelor's: European Ethnology & Business Administration (2015-2019)

Breitsprecher's research synthesizes political and economic anthropology to examine bioeconomic transformations through material culture lenses. She investigates how packaging industry innovations materialize cultural futures while confronting resource scarcity, particularly exploring post-growth paradigms and ethical tensions between economy and ecology. Her craft research extends to violin making traditions, revealing how material exhaustion reshapes artisanal practices. This work positions her at the critical intersection of sustainability transitions and cultural analysis.

Analysis of her publications (2018-2025) reveals a clear trajectory from urban anthropology toward bioeconomy cultural analysis. Recent works demonstrate methodological innovation through Photovoice techniques while maintaining consistent focus on material engagements with environmental crises. Her scholarship increasingly examines temporal dimensions of infrastructuring new packaging solutions and positioning within bioeconomic innovation fields, reflecting deeper theoretical engagement with scarcity and post-growth frameworks.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Teaching Prize "Higher Education for Sustainable Development" (2023)

Though not currently supervising graduate students, Breitsprecher successfully secured third-party funding through the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education's "Freiraum 2022" program for her research-oriented study project "Putting Bioeconomy into the Spotlight" (2022-2023), demonstrating expertise in educational grant acquisition. Her presentations at international workshops (St. Andrews, Nottingham, Tübingen) highlight active knowledge exchange within academic networks.

She contributes to collaborative knowledge production through the DFG network "Waste in Motion" and the German Society for Empirical Cultural Studies (DGEKW), where she participates in doctoral colloquia and conference organization. Her work with Dr. May exemplifies interdisciplinary team science addressing bioeconomy's societal dimensions, while her Photovoice projects create bridges between academic research and public anthropology.