Research Mobility of Prof. Dr. Marina Gržinić Mauhler in Japan under the Erasmus+ Programme

From 19 to 23 October 2026, Prof. Marina Gržinić Mauhler, Ph. D. undertook a research visit to the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Okinawa, Japan, as part of the Postgraduate School ZRC SAZU’s activities, with the support of the Erasmus+ programme. She was hosted by the Memory Research Unit, led by Prof. Kazumasa Tanaka.

 

The visit provided an important opportunity to exchange research approaches and gain insight into the laboratory’s work, while also opening up possibilities for future academic and research collaboration.

 

Lecture on Memory, Forgetting, and the Politics of Historical Memory

 

On Monday, 19 October 2026, Prof. Dr. Marina Gržinić Mauhler delivered a lecture entitled A Genealogy of Amnesia, History, and the Politics of What Can Be Remembered.

 

In her lecture, she presented research on memory, forgetting, and the political dimensions of historical memory. Particular attention was devoted to how certain historical experiences, especially those related to colonialism, antisemitism, and turbo-nationalism, are silenced, marginalized, or rendered difficult to imagine within collective memory.

 

Research Exchange and Interview with Prof. Kazumasa Tanaka

 

On Thursday, 22 October, she visited the Memory Research Unit laboratory, met with members of the research team, and conducted an in-depth interview with Prof. Kazumasa Tanaka about his research.

 

Exploring Historical Memory in Okinawa

 

As part of her research activities in Okinawa, she also visited the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum and the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum.

 

These visits provided additional context for reflecting on historical memory, traumatic pasts, and the ways in which they are represented.

 

The research mobility thus facilitated the exchange of research approaches and provided insight into the work of the host research group, while opening up possibilities for further academic and research collaboration.

 


Photo: from the professor’s personal archive

Inaugural lecture by Dr Benjamin Štular on his appointment as a full professor

We cordially invite you to the inaugural lecture to be given by Dr Benjamin Štular upon his appointment as a full professor in the field of archaeology:

 

Archaeology 2030: Research Fields, Relationships and Trends

The lecture will present the results of a bibliographic and bibliometric analysis of 2,529 highly cited archaeological publications.

 

We will trace shifts in research emphasis from 1970 to 2025, examining which fields have maintained a central position over time, how new research directions have emerged alongside them, and where scholarly attention has increased most markedly in recent years. Particular attention will be given to the relationship between established fields and rapidly growing areas such as digital archaeology, archaeogenomics, archaeometry and archaeological chemistry.

 

Drawing on these findings, we will discuss the possibilities and limitations of forecasting future trends, as well as how individual researchers and research institutions can situate their work within a broader international context.

 

The analysis rests on an extensive expert review involving the reading, critical assessment and classification of publications. We supplemented this review with machine learning and generative artificial intelligence to create a semantic atlas of the publications, showing research fields, their thematic connections, overlaps and relationships. This allows us to examine the structure of contemporary archaeology beyond conventional chronological, geographical and methodological divisions.

 

The lecture will take place on Monday, 2 November 2026 at 2.30 pm in the Gosposka Hall of the GIAM ZRC SAZU Geography Museum, Gosposka 16, Ljubljana. The lecture will also be accessible online via Zoom.

 

Zoom meeting link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88932721022?pwd=1CGLyfXFvTXFtPaOv10tazNIbMdIxd.1

 

Meeting ID: 889 3272 1022
Passcode: 624263

 

Prof. Dr Benjamin Štular is Head of the Institute of Archaeology at ZRC SAZU, a leading expert in airborne LiDAR and GIS analysis of archaeological landscapes, and a recognised researcher in early medieval archaeology. He specialises in working with cultural heritage data, using generative artificial intelligence to develop innovative, data-driven solutions for documenting, analysing, and presenting heritage. He has extensive experience in leading national and international research projects, developing open-source tools for processing LiDAR data, and leading interdisciplinary teams at the intersection of archaeology, geoinformatics, artificial intelligence, and digital humanities, with an emphasis on open science and the reproducibility of research procedures.

 

Prof. Dr Benjamin Štular has been teaching at the ZRC SAZU Postgraduate School since 2016. He is responsible for the Landscape Archaeology and Early Medieval Archaeology courses and served as coordinator of the Archaeology between the Adriatic and the Danube module in 2024 and 2025.

 

You are most welcome!

 


Figure: semantic atlas of archaeological publications (https://atlas.nomic.ai/data/bstular/archaeological-research-atlas/map/7f050529-5ee3-4884-b7be-79331447972a#fm4b).

Public Defence of the Doctoral Dissertation by Dr Krešimir Dabo

We are pleased to announce that on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, at 12:00, Dr Krešimir Dabo, a doctoral candidate in the third-cycle study programme Comparative Study of Ideas and Cultures, module Interdisciplinary Study of Institutions and Society of the 21st Century – Politics, Economics, Technology, Epistemology, will publicly defend his doctoral dissertation entitled:

 

Artists between Clickbait and Criticism: Media Narratives in the Contemporary Digital Environment

[Umetnost in umetniki med klikbajtom in kritiko: medijske pripovedi v sodobnem digitalnem okolju]

 

Doctoral dissertation abstract

 

Supervisor: Prof. Dr Marina Gržinić Mauhler

Co-supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr Boris Kern

 

Examination Committee:

  • Asst. Prof. Dr Nina Cvar
  • Dr Uroš Kranjc, Research Associate (Chair)
  • Prof. Dr Lev Kreft

 

The defence will be held in English at the Gosposka Hall, Anton Melik Geographical Institute ZRC SAZU, Gosposka ulica 16, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

 

You are cordially invited to attend.

Outstanding International Recognition for Prof. Dr Marina Gržinić Mauhler

Prof. Dr Marina Gržinić Mauhler, professor at the ZRC SAZU Graduate School, has received the Ludwig Boltzmann Society’s LExA – Leadership Excellence Award in Research 2026 in the “Experienced Leader” category.

 

The award was presented on 17 September 2026 at the Leopold Museum in Vienna. It was presented by Eva-Maria Holzleitner, Federal Minister for Women, Science and Research of the Republic of Austria, and Freyja-Maria Smolle-Jüttner, President of the Ludwig Boltzmann Society.

 

Prof. Dr Marina Gržinić Mauhler was nominated for the award by Asma Aiad, Dr Henrie Dennis, Dr Cathérine Lehnerer and Esra Özmen, early-career scholars in the humanities whom she mentored and who were involved in her research work in Austria. The nomination particularly highlighted her long-standing work as a professor, researcher, theorist and mentor.

 

The recognition is particularly significant as Prof. Dr Marina Gržinić Mauhler was selected for the LExA 2026 Award by an international jury. The award thus represents an important acknowledgement of her long-standing international research, teaching and mentoring work.

 

Her work is also distinguished by her commitment to creating space for critical thinking, new perspectives, intellectual freedom and independent research paths for younger generations of researchers.

 

Prof. Dr Marina Gržinić Mauhler is a philosopher, theorist and artist. From 1991 to 2026, she worked at the Institute of Philosophy at ZRC SAZU, while from 2003 to 2026 she taught art and theory at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. At the ZRC SAZU Graduate School, she teaches philosophy and the philosophical dimensions of new technologies and contributes to the doctoral module Transformations of Modern Thought: Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Culture.

 

We warmly congratulate Prof. Dr Marina Gržinić Mauhler on this outstanding international recognition!

Autumn Public Doctoral Dissertation Presentations

We invite you to the autumn public presentations of doctoral dissertations by students enrolled in the 3rd cycle doctoral programmes Comparative Study of Ideas and Cultures and Environmental and Regional Studies.

 

As part of the Individual Research Work course in the first year, doctoral students will present the concepts and proposed topics of their doctoral dissertations, their research questions, methodological approaches and research plans. As part of the Individual Research Work course in the third year, doctoral students will present the main findings and conclusions of their doctoral dissertations, the methods used, and the contribution of their research to the development of their respective academic fields.

 

The presentations are open to the public and are intended to encourage academic discussion of doctoral students’ research. They will take place before doctoral committees.

 

Abstracts of the presentations will be available by clicking on the bold dissertation titles in the schedule below.

 

Below we list only those presentations that will be held in English.

 


Doctoral Programme:

Environmental and Regional Studies

 

Karin Kure

Presentation of the doctoral dissertation topic (Individual Research Work 1)

Study programme: Environmental and Regional Studies
Module: 4D Earth
Working title of the doctoral dissertation: Dynamics of Landslides: The Influence of Topography, Lithology, and Extreme Precipitation
Proposed menthor: Asst. Prof. Mateja Jemec Auflić, PhD
Committee: – Prof. Giovanni Crosta, PhD (University of Milano-Bicocca),
– Assoc. Prof. Žiga Kokalj, PhD (ZRC SAZU and PŠ ZRC SAZU),
– Prof. Timotej Verbovšek, PhD (NTF UL).
Date and time: Wednesday, 26 August 2026 at 3 P.M.
Venue: Gosposka Hall ZRC SAZU, Gosposka ulica 16, Ljubljana

 

 

Lucija Balaić

Presentation of the doctoral dissertation topic (Individual Research Work 1)

Study programme: Environmental and Regional Studies
Module: Palaeobiology and Sedimentary Geology
Working title of the doctoral dissertation: Palustrine and marginal marine deposits of a synorogenic carbonate platform: the Liburnian Formation of the northern part of the Adriatic Carbonate Platform
Proposed mentor:
Proposec co-mentor:
Asst. Prof. Andrea Martín Pérez, PhD
Asst. Prof. Adrijan Košir, PhD
Committee: – Prof. Ana María Alonso Zarza, PhD (Complutense University of Madrid),
– Academician Prof. Emerita Vlasta Čošović, PhD (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science),
– Prof. Aleksander Horvat, PhD (ZRC SAZU in PŠ ZRC SAZU)
Date and time: Tuesday, 22 September 2026 at 16:00
Venue: Gosposka Hall ZRC SAZU, Gosposka ulica 16, Ljubljana

 

Darja Kopitar

Predstavitev teme doktorske disertacije (Samostojno raziskovalno delo 1)

Study programme: Environmental and Regional Studies
Module: Biodiversity and Ecology
Delovni naslov doktorske disertacije: Patterns of Flora and Vegetation Along an Urban–Suburban–Rural Gradient 
Proposed mentor: Prof. Dr Urban Šilc,
Proposed co-mentor: Asst. Prof. Dr Andrej Rozman
Committee: – Asst. Prof. Dr Mateja Breg Valjavec (ZRC SAZU in PŠ ZRC SAZU),
– Asst. Prof. Dr Peter Glasnović (UP),
– Assoc. Prof. Dr Simona Struglc Krajšek (BF UL).
Date and time: Wednesday, 23 September 2026 at 16:00
Venue: Four Seasons Hall, ZRC SAZU, Novi trg 4, 2nd floor, Ljubljana

 

 

Attendance at the presentations is not compulsory for students enrolled in the Environmental and Regional Studies doctoral programme. However, given the importance of academic discussion and the exchange of research experience, attendance is strongly encouraged.

 


Doctoral programme:

Comparative Study of Ideas and Cultures

 

Dženana Hadžihafizbegović

Presentation of the doctoral dissertation topic (Individual Research Work I)

Study programme: Comparative Study of Ideas and Cultures
Module: Interdisciplinary Study of Institutions and Society in the 21st Century – Politics, Economies, Technologies, Epistemologies
Working title of the doctoral dissertation: The Epistemic Status of Artificial Intelligence: Simulation or Participation in Human Epistemic Practices
Proposed mentor: Asst. Prof. Gregor Strle, PhD
Committee: – doc. dr. Rok Benčin (ZRC SAZU in PŠ ZRC SAZU),
– red. prof. dr. Marina Gržinić Mauhler (PŠ ZRC SAZU),
– izr. prof. dr. Primož Krašovec (FF UL)
Date and time: Friday, 11 September 2026 at 3 P.M.
Venue: Gosposka Hall ZRC SAZU, Gosposka ulica 16, Ljubljana

 

 

Leila Fazayeli

Presentation of the doctoral dissertation topic (Individual Research Work I)

Study programme: Comparative Study of Ideas and Cultures
Module: Cultural History
Working title of the doctoral dissertation: Image Politics: the Circulation and Agency of Images in the Formation of Resistance and Collective Memory in Contemporary Iran
Proposed mentor: Prof. Tanja Petrović, PhD
Committee: – Prof. Oto Luthar, PhD (ZRC SAZU and PS ZRC SAZU)
– Asst. Prof. Martin Pogačar, PhD (ZRC SAZU and PS ZRC SAZU),
– Assoc. Prof. Ilija Tomanić Trivundža, PhD (FDV UL).
Date and time: Wednesday 14 October 2026 at 4 P.M.
Venue: Gosposka Hall ZRC SAZU, Gosposka ulica 16, Ljubljana

 

Attendance at presentations by fellow students enrolled in the Comparative Study of Ideas and Cultures doctoral programme is compulsory as part of the Research Seminar I (first year) and Research Seminar II (second year) course requirements. Attendance will be recorded by signing an attendance sheet.

 

All other interested participants are also warmly invited to attend.


Photo by BOOM ? Photography

Guest lecture by Prof Peter O. Baumgartner

The Ivan Rakovec Institute of Palaeontology, in cooperation with the module Paleobiology and Sedimentary Geology, invites you to a public lecture of Prof Peter O. Baumgartner:

 

Demise of larger benthic foraminifera caused by climate change around the Eocene/Oligocene boundary: evidence from the Helvetic/Dauphinois nappes (W-Switzerland /Haute Savoie, France).

 

The guest lecturer, Peter O. Baumgartner, Professor emeritus of Geology and Paleontology at Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland, will present research of Claudia Baumgartner-Mora, Peter O. Baumgartner, Goran Andjic, Carles Ferrandez and Jean-Luc Epard on fossil and chemostratigraphic record of global and regional events in Eocene-Oligocene successions in the Alps of western Switzerland and Haute Savoie, France.

 

The event will be held on Thursday, 10 September 2026 at 3:00 pm in English in the Gosposka Hall of ZM GIAM ZRC SAZU, Gosposka ulica 16, Ljubljana.

 


Photo: A view of the Pycnodonte (oyster shell) bed in the Sanetsch area, Valais Switzerland

By Peter O. Baumgartner.

7th Geography Talk: Regenerative Tourism and Place Regeneration

The Anton Melik Geographical Institute ZRC SAZU and Postgraduate School ZRC SAZU invite you to the 7th Geography Talk, taking place on 14 September, focusing on regenerative tourism and place regeneration.

 

Can tourism go beyond merely reducing its negative impacts and actively contribute to the ecological, cultural and social vitality of places?

 

The talk will open with Dr Irena Ateljević, an internationally recognised scholar, public policy adviser and expert in sustainable and regenerative development. In her lecture, From Tourism to Place Regeneration: Rethinking Place as a Living System, she will present regenerative tourism as a potential catalyst for place regeneration.

 

Drawing on her journey from academic research to practical engagement, she will explore how understanding place as a living system can contribute to broader systemic transformation.

 

When: 14 September 2026, 9.00–10.30

Where: Atrij ZRC, Novi trg 2, Ljubljana

Language: English

Participation: Free of charge

Registration: Registration form

Registration deadline: 11 September or until all places are filled

 

This Geography Talk is being held as part of the international forum Regenerative Tourism in Practice, organised by the Anton Melik Geographical Institute ZRC SAZU within the framework of the Interreg Euro-MED Regenera4MED project.

 

Following the talk, you are also invited to presentations of practical examples, a round-table discussion with guests, and refreshments with an opportunity for informal conversation and networking. You may register either for the Geography Talk only or for the entire forum.

 

A more detailed invitation is available here.

Ljubljana Study Visit at Postgraduate School ZRC SAZU as part of the Erasmus+ CBHE SacredTravels4Growth

Between 27 June and 1 July 2026, the Postgraduate School ZRC SAZU (PS ZRC SAZU) will host an international study visit organised as part of the Erasmus+ CBHE project SacredTravels4Growth. We will host the project’s leading institution, Logos University, Tirana (Albania) and partners from various countries, including India (Banaras Hindu University, Karnatak University), the Republic of South Africa (North-West University, Venda University), Moldova (Ion Creangă National Pedagogical University, Moldova State University), Albania (POLIS University, European University of Tirana), Spain (University of Santiago de Compostela, USC International Courses), Greece (University of Piraeus), and Malta (University of Malta). Erasmus+ CBHE SacredTravels4Growth focuses on the meanings of pilgrimage-related practices and experiences, pilgrimage sites and associated landscapes, and heritage processes in the context of religious tourism.

 

The study visit will highlight the meaning of pilgrimage, both sacred and secular, and heritage-making practices by shedding light on the experiences, sensory and embodied realms of pilgrimages, as well as pilgrimage paths and pilgrims themselves. These topics will be explored through activities such as workshops, thematic seminars, visits to pilgrimage and heritage sites in Ljubljana, Radovljica and Brezje, a walking seminar to Šmarna gora, and a film screening followed by discussion.

 

A special welcome to the event that will take place on Monday, 29 June 2026, in the ZRC SAZU Gosposka Hall (Gosposka ulica 16, Ljubljana) from 9 am, featuring presentations by lecturers at the PS ZRC SAZU from three different study modules: Nataša Gregorič Bon and Maja Petrović-Šteger (Anthropology: Understanding World-Making Practices), Marjeta Pisk and Špela Ledinek Lozej  (Heritage and Heritage Processes in a Critical Perspective), Nataša Rogelja Caf and Martina Bofulin (Migration Studies and Heritage and Heritage Processes in a Critical Perspective).

 

At 4 pm will be a screening of the documentary film Common Roads: Pilgrimage and Backpacking in the 21st Century (2013, Tommi Mendel), followed by a short discussion.

 

 

The event is open to students, researchers, and the wider public.

 

The detailed programme of the entire study visit is available here.

 

Warmly welcome.

 

 


Detail of Triumph of Death, Camposanto, Pisa (Photo: Nataša Gregorič Bon)

PhD presentations at the doctoral study programme Comparative Study of Ideas and Cultures

You are cordially invited to attend the presentation of a doctoral dissertation topic within the framework of the doctoral programme (third cycle) Comparative Studies of Ideas and Cultures and the course requirements of Independent Research Work I and Independent Research Work III.

 

Abstracts of the presentations are available in the bolded dissertation titles below.

 


Dr Krešimir Dabo

Presentation of the doctoral dissertation prior to evaluation and defence:

 

Modul: Interdisciplinary Study of Institutions and Society in the 21st Century – Politics, Economies, Technologies, Epistemologies
Dissertation title: Art and Artists between Clickbait and Criticism: Media Narratives in the Contemporary Digital Environment
Mentor: Prof. Dr Marina Gržinić Mauhler
Co-mentor: Asst. Prof. Dr Boris Kern
Committee: Asst. Prof. Dr Nina Cvar (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana),
Dr Uroš Kranjc (Postgraduate School ZRC SAZU),
Prof. Dr Lev Kreft (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana).
Date: Friday, 12 June 2026 | 3 PM
Location: Meeting Room ZRC SAZU,
Novi trg 2, 1st Floor, Ljubljana

 

Important notice: The presentation will be held in English. Attendance by international and non-Slovene-speaking students counts towards the fulfilment of the course requirements of Research Seminar I (1st year) and Research Seminar II (2nd year).

 

Other interested members of the public are warmly welcome to attend.

Join us for a Geography Chat

Could Ljubljana, Vienna, Berlin and Hanover function as ’15-minute cities’ — urban environments where work, shopping, education, healthcare, recreation and other daily necessities are within walking or cycling distance?

 

The Anton Melik Geographical Institute – ZRC SAZU and the Postgraduate School ZRC SAZU are pleased to invite you to a Geography Chat with Dr Björn Schwarze and Dr Klaus Spiekermann from S&W Urban and Regional Research in Germany. They will discuss the extent to which selected European urban regions facilitate the development of the 15-minute city, the population groups that benefit most from such spatial arrangements and those who remain dependent on cars.

 

Special emphasis will also be placed on the Ljubljana urban region. This will be followed by a presentation of an in-depth analysis titled ‘Can the 15-Minute City Work at the Regional Scale? The Case of the Ljubljana Urban Region” and a discussion.

 

When: 11 June, 10:00–13:00
Where: ZRC SAZU Atrium, Novi trg 2, Ljubljana
Language: English
Udeležba: brezplačna
Registration: https://1ka.arnes.si/Geoklepet6
Registration deadline: 4 June

 

You are also invited to join us for an informal chat with our guests over light refreshments after the event.

 

As space is limited, please RSVP by 4 June at the latest. You can access a detailed invitation via the link.

 

We look forward to seeing you there!