Simone Pfeifer

Dr. Simone Pfeifer is a postdoctoral researcher and Associate Senior Research Fellow specializing in visual, digital, and media anthropology with a focus on migration, transnationalism, and Islam in German-speaking contexts. She is affiliated with the Institute of Ethnology at Goethe University Frankfurt, where she participates in the "Critical Anthropology" project. Her work bridges academic research with public engagement through multimodal and collaborative approaches.

Her educational background includes:

• MAs in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Cologne
• MA in Visual Anthropology from the University of Manchester
• PhD from the University of Cologne on social media practices and transnational everyday lives of Senegalese in Berlin and Dakar
• Currently pursuing her Habilitation on Muslim everyday life and digital media practices in post-migrant contexts

Dr. Pfeifer's research centers at the intersection of visual, digital, and media anthropology with migration studies and religious-political contexts. She employs (post)digital ethnography and digital curatorial strategies for co-production of knowledge, focusing on practices of connecting and excluding within post-migrant society. Her work critically examines new spheres of Muslim activism, participation, anti-Muslim racism, and the securitization of Islam in Germany. She also explores multimodal and collaborative research methods, ethical challenges in ethnographic research, and political violence.

Her recent publications demonstrate a clear trend toward collaborative, multimodal, and postdigital approaches to anthropology. She investigates how digital media practices shape transnational relationships, religious expression, and political activism, particularly among Muslim communities in Germany. Her work often bridges the gap between academic research and public engagement through digital exhibitions, Instagram research profiles like "Hashtag Islam," and curatorial projects that make anthropological knowledge accessible to broader audiences.

Dr. Pfeifer has been involved in significant research projects:

• "Critical Anthropology" project at Goethe University Frankfurt
• "Jihadism on the Internet: Images and Videos, their Appropriation and Dissemination" at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
• Research Training Group 2661: "anschließen-ausschließen - Cultural Dynamics Beyond Globalized Networks" at the University of Cologne

She co-curates the digital web application "reCLAIM: Art as Resistance Against Political Violence" and manages the collaborative Instagram research profile "Hashtag Islam" with a team of researchers. These platforms serve as both research tools and public engagement mechanisms, exploring Muslim everyday life and social media practices in Germany through curated content, book recommendations, and anthropological commentary.