Markus Verne

PD Dr. Markus Verne is an Acting Professor at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg. His career includes roles as Senior Academic Councillor (since 2014) and Academic Councillor (2006–2014) at the Chair of Social and Cultural Anthropology under Prof. Dr. Kurt Beck. He received his habilitation in 2014 with a thesis on Malagasy heavy metal culture and holds a PhD from the University of Bayreuth's Collaborative Research Center on African studies (2000–2006).

Research focuses on West Africa (consumption patterns, economic ethnology) and Madagascar (ethnomusicology, popular culture), with thematic interests in cultural theory, popular music, consumption in scarcity, and ethnological aesthetics. He was a Marie Curie Fellow (2011/12) at UCLA and University of Bayreuth, examining Malagasy heavy metal and its cultural implications.

Key publications include Heavy Metal in Madagascar (2014) and edited volumes on cultural astonishment. His work critiques contextualist approaches in anthropology and explores music's role in cultural expression. Awards include the Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship under FP7.

Teaching and research activities emphasize fieldwork in Africa and interdisciplinary approaches to cultural studies. Current lab affiliations include the Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology in Freiburg.