I am Professor of Environmental Anthropology and Science and Technology Studies at the Institute of European Ethnology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. I have been heading the lab since Oct 2023 and have been a member since 2011.
My research focuses on the linkages between multispecies health, anthropogenic climate change, and urban living. I did extensive co-laborative fieldwork on knowledge and governance practices in medical places (psychiatry, palliative care, and dermatology) as well as in community mental healthcare and urban settings. In my current research I explore conceptions of chronic mental illness and urban living at the margins as well as the reinvention of future democratic state institutions such as the Austrian Climate Court of Audit.
Welcome to our group!
Contact: milena.bister@hu-berlin.de
Find me also at: ORCID | ResearchGate | Institute for European Ethnology
Publications
2023
Milena D. Bister
Making un/equal: reassessing inequality and mental health through a praxeographic approach on welfare categorization processes Journal Article
In: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 2023.
@article{Bister2023,
title = {Making un/equal: reassessing inequality and mental health through a praxeographic approach on welfare categorization processes},
author = {Milena D. Bister},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-023-02550-9},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-09-01},
journal = { Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology},
abstract = {Purpose
In recent decades, Europe has seen a steady increase in psychiatric diagnoses, which, besides affecting the population in many ways, also challenges the organization of welfare. This paper explores how welfare classification processes impact the contemporary production of mental (ill) health and social inequality in the German welfare state.
Methods
Based on comprehensive ethnographic research in the public mental healthcare landscape in Berlin between 2011 and 2017, this paper discusses in detail the case of a mandatory prescription of a psychosocial rehabilitation measure for Ms Reisch, a psychiatric service user and ethnographic research partner. The analysis draws on the methodological approach of praxeography to examine how this case challenges the social determinants of mental health framework and the conceptual work of the sociology of inequality on which the categories of welfare are largely built.
Results
The paper highlights the essentializing properties of social categories, whether in the sociology of inequality or in social and mental health policy. It also demonstrates the strength of praxeography to expose how multiple welfare categorization processes shape experiences and events of dis/ability in practice, potentially contradicting the stated intentions of social policy.
Conclusion
The results suggest that the attachment of categories to people in public welfare needs to be changed to make public administration more flexible to responding to the situated processes that bring about differentiations of equal and unequal in practice. The paper, therefore, encourages social inquiry into the potentialities of a post-categorical social policy framework.},
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Purpose
In recent decades, Europe has seen a steady increase in psychiatric diagnoses, which, besides affecting the population in many ways, also challenges the organization of welfare. This paper explores how welfare classification processes impact the contemporary production of mental (ill) health and social inequality in the German welfare state.
Methods
Based on comprehensive ethnographic research in the public mental healthcare landscape in Berlin between 2011 and 2017, this paper discusses in detail the case of a mandatory prescription of a psychosocial rehabilitation measure for Ms Reisch, a psychiatric service user and ethnographic research partner. The analysis draws on the methodological approach of praxeography to examine how this case challenges the social determinants of mental health framework and the conceptual work of the sociology of inequality on which the categories of welfare are largely built.
Results
The paper highlights the essentializing properties of social categories, whether in the sociology of inequality or in social and mental health policy. It also demonstrates the strength of praxeography to expose how multiple welfare categorization processes shape experiences and events of dis/ability in practice, potentially contradicting the stated intentions of social policy.
Conclusion
The results suggest that the attachment of categories to people in public welfare needs to be changed to make public administration more flexible to responding to the situated processes that bring about differentiations of equal and unequal in practice. The paper, therefore, encourages social inquiry into the potentialities of a post-categorical social policy framework.
In recent decades, Europe has seen a steady increase in psychiatric diagnoses, which, besides affecting the population in many ways, also challenges the organization of welfare. This paper explores how welfare classification processes impact the contemporary production of mental (ill) health and social inequality in the German welfare state.
Methods
Based on comprehensive ethnographic research in the public mental healthcare landscape in Berlin between 2011 and 2017, this paper discusses in detail the case of a mandatory prescription of a psychosocial rehabilitation measure for Ms Reisch, a psychiatric service user and ethnographic research partner. The analysis draws on the methodological approach of praxeography to examine how this case challenges the social determinants of mental health framework and the conceptual work of the sociology of inequality on which the categories of welfare are largely built.
Results
The paper highlights the essentializing properties of social categories, whether in the sociology of inequality or in social and mental health policy. It also demonstrates the strength of praxeography to expose how multiple welfare categorization processes shape experiences and events of dis/ability in practice, potentially contradicting the stated intentions of social policy.
Conclusion
The results suggest that the attachment of categories to people in public welfare needs to be changed to make public administration more flexible to responding to the situated processes that bring about differentiations of equal and unequal in practice. The paper, therefore, encourages social inquiry into the potentialities of a post-categorical social policy framework.
Patrick Bieler, Milena Bister, Jörg Niewöhner
Phänomenographie: Zur Rekonstruktion von Erfahrung als Praxis Book Section
In: Martina Röthl, Barbara Sieferle (Ed.): 2023.
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title = {Phänomenographie: Zur Rekonstruktion von Erfahrung als Praxis},
author = {Patrick Bieler and Milena Bister and Jörg Niewöhner},
editor = {Martina Röthl and Barbara Sieferle},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-04-01},
urldate = {2023-04-01},
edition = {Erfahrung – Kulturanalytische Relationierungen. Münster/ New York: Waxmann, 59–78.},
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2021
Milena D. Bister
Minute/s Work: The Participation of Digital Data Objects in the Conjuncture and Disjuncture of Policy and Care Book Section
In: Svalastog, Anna Lydia; Gajović, Srećko; Webster, Andrew (Ed.): Navigating Digital Health Landscapes: A Multidisciplinary Analysis, pp. 151-171, 2021.
@incollection{Bister2021c,
title = {Minute/s Work: The Participation of Digital Data Objects in the Conjuncture and Disjuncture of Policy and Care},
author = {Milena D. Bister},
editor = {Svalastog, Anna Lydia; Gajović, Srećko; Webster, Andrew
},
url = {https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-981-15-8206-6_8},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8206-6_8},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-04-01},
booktitle = {Navigating Digital Health Landscapes: A Multidisciplinary Analysis},
pages = {151-171},
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Patrick Bieler, Milena D. Bister, Christine Schmid
Formate des Ko-Laborierens. Geteilte epistemische Arbeit als katalytische Praxis Journal Article
In: Berliner Blätter: ethnographische und ethnologische Beiträge, vol. 83, pp. 87-105, 2021.
@article{Bieler2021b,
title = {Formate des Ko-Laborierens. Geteilte epistemische Arbeit als katalytische Praxis},
author = {Patrick Bieler and Milena D. Bister and Christine Schmid },
url = {http://www.berliner-blaetter.de/index.php/blaetter/article/view/1094},
doi = {10.18452/22407},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-02-01},
journal = {Berliner Blätter: ethnographische und ethnologische Beiträge},
volume = {83},
pages = {87-105},
abstract = {Die Zusammenarbeit mit Akteur*innen im Feld ist spätestens seit den 1980er Jahren ein zentrales Thema ethnografischer Wissensproduktion. Allerdings ist in der Umsetzung von Kollaborationen meist folgender Zwiespalt zu beobachten: Varianten der Dekonstruktion und „Kritik von außen“ stehen Formen der engagierten oder aktivistischen Forschung gegenüber, die „von innen“ an vorab definierten Problemlösungen arbeiten oder epistemische Positionen des Forschungsfeldes übernehmen. Beide Pole können aus unserer Sicht die Frage nach gesellschaftlich wirkmächtiger Kritik aus den Sozialwissenschaften heute nicht ausreichend beantworten.
Basierend auf zehn Jahren Zusammenarbeit mit Partner*innen im Feld der psychiatrischen Versorgung und Forschung, stellen wir in diesem Artikel drei unterschiedliche Formate des ko-laborativen – temporären und nicht an einem gemeinsamem, normativem Ziel orientierten – Zusammenarbeitens vor dem Hintergrund ihrer praktischen Durchführung detailliert vor. Wir diskutieren, wie praktische Formen des Zusammenarbeitens mit dem Forschungsfeld die Forschungssubjekte im Prozess der Wissensgenerierung als epistemische Partner*innen konzeptualisieren und damit auf eine Veränderung der ethnografischen Wissensproduktion im Forschungsprozess an sich abzielen. Wir argumentieren, dass durch situierte Konzeptarbeit gemeinsam mit anderen Akteur*innen die eigene Disziplin zentral weiter entwickelt und sozio-materielle Verhältnisse jenseits von distanzierter Kritik oder Perspektivübernahme mitgestaltet werden können.},
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Die Zusammenarbeit mit Akteur*innen im Feld ist spätestens seit den 1980er Jahren ein zentrales Thema ethnografischer Wissensproduktion. Allerdings ist in der Umsetzung von Kollaborationen meist folgender Zwiespalt zu beobachten: Varianten der Dekonstruktion und „Kritik von außen“ stehen Formen der engagierten oder aktivistischen Forschung gegenüber, die „von innen“ an vorab definierten Problemlösungen arbeiten oder epistemische Positionen des Forschungsfeldes übernehmen. Beide Pole können aus unserer Sicht die Frage nach gesellschaftlich wirkmächtiger Kritik aus den Sozialwissenschaften heute nicht ausreichend beantworten.
Basierend auf zehn Jahren Zusammenarbeit mit Partner*innen im Feld der psychiatrischen Versorgung und Forschung, stellen wir in diesem Artikel drei unterschiedliche Formate des ko-laborativen – temporären und nicht an einem gemeinsamem, normativem Ziel orientierten – Zusammenarbeitens vor dem Hintergrund ihrer praktischen Durchführung detailliert vor. Wir diskutieren, wie praktische Formen des Zusammenarbeitens mit dem Forschungsfeld die Forschungssubjekte im Prozess der Wissensgenerierung als epistemische Partner*innen konzeptualisieren und damit auf eine Veränderung der ethnografischen Wissensproduktion im Forschungsprozess an sich abzielen. Wir argumentieren, dass durch situierte Konzeptarbeit gemeinsam mit anderen Akteur*innen die eigene Disziplin zentral weiter entwickelt und sozio-materielle Verhältnisse jenseits von distanzierter Kritik oder Perspektivübernahme mitgestaltet werden können.
Basierend auf zehn Jahren Zusammenarbeit mit Partner*innen im Feld der psychiatrischen Versorgung und Forschung, stellen wir in diesem Artikel drei unterschiedliche Formate des ko-laborativen – temporären und nicht an einem gemeinsamem, normativem Ziel orientierten – Zusammenarbeitens vor dem Hintergrund ihrer praktischen Durchführung detailliert vor. Wir diskutieren, wie praktische Formen des Zusammenarbeitens mit dem Forschungsfeld die Forschungssubjekte im Prozess der Wissensgenerierung als epistemische Partner*innen konzeptualisieren und damit auf eine Veränderung der ethnografischen Wissensproduktion im Forschungsprozess an sich abzielen. Wir argumentieren, dass durch situierte Konzeptarbeit gemeinsam mit anderen Akteur*innen die eigene Disziplin zentral weiter entwickelt und sozio-materielle Verhältnisse jenseits von distanzierter Kritik oder Perspektivübernahme mitgestaltet werden können.
Milena D. Bister
Gesundheitliches Gut-achten als soziomaterieller Prozess: Eine Praxeografie der Zuerkennung von gemeindepsychiatrischen Leistungen in Berlin Journal Article
In: Österreichische Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaften, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 157-178, 2021.
@article{Bister2021,
title = {Gesundheitliches Gut-achten als soziomaterieller Prozess: Eine Praxeografie der Zuerkennung von gemeindepsychiatrischen Leistungen in Berlin},
author = {Milena D. Bister},
url = {https://journals.univie.ac.at/index.php/oezg/article/view/5589},
doi = {10.25365/OEZG-2020-31-3-9},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-20},
journal = {Österreichische Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaften},
volume = {31},
number = {3},
pages = {157-178},
abstract = {Historically, social security has been related to medical knowledge in many ways. For instance, medical expertise is incorporated into the granting and assessment of welfare state support measures and social policy fields of application shape medical knowledge practice. This paper deals with health assessment practices in Berlin community mental healthcare institutions. Based on a praxeographic approach and ethnographic research conducted between 2011 and 2017, two characteristics of the assessment process are elaborated: on the one hand, the assessment is distributed over different persons, forms of knowledge and artefacts as well as over time. On the other, it focuses on the beneficiary as a case and tailors the assessment of the person and his or her need for support to existing care services. The aim of this contribution is to first locate health assessment processes as situated and contingent knowledge practices in the context of welfare state support measures and second to clarify their effects on the establishment of living conditions of psychiatric service users.},
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Historically, social security has been related to medical knowledge in many ways. For instance, medical expertise is incorporated into the granting and assessment of welfare state support measures and social policy fields of application shape medical knowledge practice. This paper deals with health assessment practices in Berlin community mental healthcare institutions. Based on a praxeographic approach and ethnographic research conducted between 2011 and 2017, two characteristics of the assessment process are elaborated: on the one hand, the assessment is distributed over different persons, forms of knowledge and artefacts as well as over time. On the other, it focuses on the beneficiary as a case and tailors the assessment of the person and his or her need for support to existing care services. The aim of this contribution is to first locate health assessment processes as situated and contingent knowledge practices in the context of welfare state support measures and second to clarify their effects on the establishment of living conditions of psychiatric service users.
2020
Patrick Bieler, Milena D. Bister, Janine Hauer, Martina Klausner, Jörg Niewöhner, Christine Schmid, Sebastian von Peter
Distributing Reflexivity through Co-laborative Ethnography Journal Article
In: Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 2020.
@article{Bieler2020,
title = {Distributing Reflexivity through Co-laborative Ethnography},
author = {Patrick Bieler and Milena D. Bister and Janine Hauer and Martina Klausner and Jörg Niewöhner and Christine Schmid and Sebastian von Peter},
editor = {
},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241620968271},
doi = {10.1177/0891241620968271},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-11-03},
journal = {Journal of Contemporary Ethnography},
abstract = {In ethnographic research and analysis, reflexivity is vital to achieving constant coordination between field and concept work. However, it has been conceptualized predominantly as an ethnographer’s individual mental capacity. In this article, we draw on ten years of experience in conducting research together with partners from social psychiatry and mental health care across different research projects. We unfold three modes of achieving reflexivity co-laboratively: contrasting and discussing disciplinary concepts in interdisciplinary working groups and feedback workshops; joint data interpretation and writing; and participating in political agenda setting. Engaging these modes reveals reflexivity as a distributed process able to strengthen the ethnographer’s interpretative authority, and also able to constantly push the conceptual boundaries of the participating disciplines and professions.},
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In ethnographic research and analysis, reflexivity is vital to achieving constant coordination between field and concept work. However, it has been conceptualized predominantly as an ethnographer’s individual mental capacity. In this article, we draw on ten years of experience in conducting research together with partners from social psychiatry and mental health care across different research projects. We unfold three modes of achieving reflexivity co-laboratively: contrasting and discussing disciplinary concepts in interdisciplinary working groups and feedback workshops; joint data interpretation and writing; and participating in political agenda setting. Engaging these modes reveals reflexivity as a distributed process able to strengthen the ethnographer’s interpretative authority, and also able to constantly push the conceptual boundaries of the participating disciplines and professions.
Milena D. Bister
In: ephemera. theory and politics in organization, 2020.
@article{Bister2020,
title = {Moving and mapping (with) Actor-Network Theory (Review: Blok, A, Farías, I., & Roberts, C. (eds) (2019) The Routledge Companion to Actor-Network Theory, London: Routledge.)},
author = {Milena D. Bister},
url = {http://www.ephemerajournal.org/contribution/moving-and-mapping-actor-network-theory},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-10-20},
journal = {ephemera. theory and politics in organization},
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Petra Beck, Patrick Bieler, Milena Bister, Adina Dymczyk, Janine Hauer, Anna Heitger, Dženeta Hodžić, Ruzana Liburkina, Stefan Reinsch, Tim Seitz, Christine Schmid, Krystin Unverzagt
In: H-Soz-Kult, 2020.
@article{Beck2020,
title = {Rezension zu: Groth, Stefan; Ritter, Christian (Hrsg.): Zusammen arbeiten. Praktiken der Koordination und Kooperation in kollaborativen Prozessen. Bielefeld 2019},
author = {Petra Beck and Patrick Bieler and Milena Bister and Adina Dymczyk and Janine Hauer and Anna Heitger and Dženeta Hodžić and Ruzana Liburkina and Stefan Reinsch and Tim Seitz and Christine Schmid and Krystin Unverzagt},
url = {https://www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-29122},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-02-25},
journal = {H-Soz-Kult},
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2019
Simon Gallinger, Natalie Jankowski, Milena D. Bister, Sandra Korge, Astrid Trachterna, Stefan Hildebrand, Tamer Oruc, Jörg Niewöhner, and Urte Heitman, Robert Downes, Marc Kraft
Development of a modular Decubitus Prophylaxis System: DekuProSys Journal Article
In: Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 277-280, 2019.
@article{Gallinger2019,
title = {Development of a modular Decubitus Prophylaxis System: DekuProSys},
author = {Simon Gallinger and Natalie Jankowski and Milena D. Bister and Sandra Korge and Astrid Trachterna and Stefan Hildebrand and Tamer Oruc and Jörg Niewöhner and and Urte Heitman and Robert Downes and Marc Kraft},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1515/cdbme-2019-0070},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-09-18},
journal = {Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering},
volume = {5},
number = {1},
pages = {277-280},
abstract = {Pressure ulcers (decubiti) are one of the most frequent side effects in the palliative care setting. Terminally ill and dying people have multiple comorbidities resulting in a high risk to develop pressure ulcers. These skin lesions are caused by pressure, friction and shearing forces in combination with several risk factors (e.g. moisture, tissue condition). People of all ages with reduced activity can suffer from decubitus ulcers. In palliative care, the treatment of symptoms to ensure the highest possible quality of life is of primary importance. Ethical controversies and difficult decision-making often lead to uncertainties and burdens for caregivers, patients and relatives. In the DekuProSys project, a decubitus prophylaxis system for inpatient and outpatient palliative care of people of all ages is being developed. The system will assist caregivers in patient care in multiple ways. It will capture and report risk factors for decubitus, assist at decision making and documentation. Furthermore, it will provide care information and instruction if needed. Aiming for an innovative and useful solution, the project follows a user-centered and interdisciplinary approach.},
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Pressure ulcers (decubiti) are one of the most frequent side effects in the palliative care setting. Terminally ill and dying people have multiple comorbidities resulting in a high risk to develop pressure ulcers. These skin lesions are caused by pressure, friction and shearing forces in combination with several risk factors (e.g. moisture, tissue condition). People of all ages with reduced activity can suffer from decubitus ulcers. In palliative care, the treatment of symptoms to ensure the highest possible quality of life is of primary importance. Ethical controversies and difficult decision-making often lead to uncertainties and burdens for caregivers, patients and relatives. In the DekuProSys project, a decubitus prophylaxis system for inpatient and outpatient palliative care of people of all ages is being developed. The system will assist caregivers in patient care in multiple ways. It will capture and report risk factors for decubitus, assist at decision making and documentation. Furthermore, it will provide care information and instruction if needed. Aiming for an innovative and useful solution, the project follows a user-centered and interdisciplinary approach.
Jörg Niewöhner, Patrick Bieler, Milena Bister, Janine Hauer, Maren Heibges, Jonna Josties, Martina Klausner, Anja Klein, Ruzana Liburkina, Julie Sascia Mewes, Christine Schmid, Tim Seitz (Ed.)
After Practice. Thinking through Matter(s) and Meaning Relationally. Volume I Collection
Panama Verlag, Berlin, 2019.
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Jörg Niewöhner, Patrick Bieler, Milena Bister, Janine Hauer, Maren Heibges, Jonna Josties, Martina Klausner, Anja Klein, Ruzana Liburkina, Julie Sascia Mewes, Christine Schmid, Tim Seitz (Ed.)
After Practice. Thinking through Matter(s) and Meaning Relationally. Volume II Collection
Panama Verlag, Berlin, 2019.
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Sabine Biedermann, Patrick Bieler, Milena Bister, Sascha Cornejo Puschner, Adina Dymczyk, Dennis Eckhardt, Janine Hauer, Maren Heibges, Dženeta Hodžić, Jonna Josties, Martina Klausner, Anja Klein, Céline Lauer, Ruzana Liburkina, Jörg Niewöhner, Stefan Reinsch, Christine Schmid, Tim Seitz, Itzell Torres, Krystin Unverzagt, Jorge E. Vega-Marrot
Current work in the Laboratory: Anthropology of Environment | Human Relations: Doing research in a more-than-thought collective Journal Article
In: EASST Review, vol. 38, no. 2, 2019.
@article{Biedermann2019b,
title = {Current work in the Laboratory: Anthropology of Environment | Human Relations: Doing research in a more-than-thought collective},
author = {Sabine Biedermann and Patrick Bieler and Milena Bister and Sascha Cornejo Puschner and Adina Dymczyk and Dennis Eckhardt and Janine Hauer and Maren Heibges and Dženeta Hodžić and Jonna Josties and Martina Klausner and Anja Klein and Céline Lauer and Ruzana Liburkina and Jörg Niewöhner and Stefan Reinsch and Christine Schmid and Tim Seitz and Itzell Torres and Krystin Unverzagt and Jorge E. Vega-Marrot},
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Sabine Biedermann, Patrick Bieler, Milena Bister, Sascha Cornejo Puschner, Adina Dymczyk, Dennis Eckhardt, Janine Hauer, Maren Heibges, Dženeta Hodžić, Jonna Josties, Martina Klausner, Anja Klein, Céline Lauer, Ruzana Liburkina, Jörg Niewöhner, Stefan Reinsch, Christine Schmid, Tim Seitz, Itzell Torres, Krystin Unverzagt, Jorge E. Vega-Marrot
From the Collaboratory Social Anthropology & Life Sciences to the Laboratory: Anthropology of Environment | Human Relations Journal Article
In: EASST Review, vol. 38, no. 2, 2019.
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2018
Milena D. Bister
The concept of chronicity in action: Everyday classification practices and the shaping of mental health care Journal Article
In: Sociology of Health & Illness, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 38–52, 2018, (online version published on October 5, 2017).
@article{Bister2018,
title = {The concept of chronicity in action: Everyday classification practices and the shaping of mental health care},
author = {Milena D. Bister},
doi = {10.1111/1467-9566.12623},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Sociology of Health & Illness},
volume = {40},
number = {1},
pages = {38--52},
abstract = {For almost half a century social scientists have explored the phenomenon of chronic illness. In this paper, I examine how the concept of chronicity participates in present-day mental health care settings. Using ethnomethodology and material-semiotic theory within science and technology studies, I investigate how the classification ‘chronically mentally ill’ interacts with the everyday socio-material shaping of public mental health care in the context of professional institutions. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in a psychiatric day hospital and in a community day care centre in Berlin, Germany, I demonstrate how the classification of chronicity acts as a tool of description (of people or their conditions), regulation (of therapy, health care or administration), and connection to infrastructures of care (practised technologies or standards of various kinds). In these ways, I argue, the classification engages in actions of producing treatability, arranging resources, demarcating responsibilities, practicing accountability, and doing presence. Notably, community mental health care has developed into a designated territory of the concept: explicitly arranged for ‘the chronically mentally ill’ as a human kind, we can take everyday life in these institutions as instructive of how chronicity is defined in daily practice.},
note = {online version published on October 5, 2017},
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For almost half a century social scientists have explored the phenomenon of chronic illness. In this paper, I examine how the concept of chronicity participates in present-day mental health care settings. Using ethnomethodology and material-semiotic theory within science and technology studies, I investigate how the classification ‘chronically mentally ill’ interacts with the everyday socio-material shaping of public mental health care in the context of professional institutions. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in a psychiatric day hospital and in a community day care centre in Berlin, Germany, I demonstrate how the classification of chronicity acts as a tool of description (of people or their conditions), regulation (of therapy, health care or administration), and connection to infrastructures of care (practised technologies or standards of various kinds). In these ways, I argue, the classification engages in actions of producing treatability, arranging resources, demarcating responsibilities, practicing accountability, and doing presence. Notably, community mental health care has developed into a designated territory of the concept: explicitly arranged for ‘the chronically mentally ill’ as a human kind, we can take everyday life in these institutions as instructive of how chronicity is defined in daily practice.
2016
Sebastian von Peter, Alexandre Wullschleger, Lieselotte Mahler, Ingrid Munk, Manfred Zaumseil, Jörg Niewöhner, Martina Klausner, Milena Bister, Andreas Heinz, Stefan Beck
Chronizität im Alltag der psychiatrischen Versorgung: Eine Forschungskollaboration zwischen Sozialpsychiatrie und Europäischer Ethnologie Journal Article
In: Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, Psychologie und Psychotherapie, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 7–18, 2016.
@article{PeterWullschlegerMahler2016,
title = {Chronizität im Alltag der psychiatrischen Versorgung: Eine Forschungskollaboration zwischen Sozialpsychiatrie und Europäischer Ethnologie},
author = {Sebastian von Peter and Alexandre Wullschleger and Lieselotte Mahler and Ingrid Munk and Manfred Zaumseil and Jörg Niewöhner and Martina Klausner and Milena Bister and Andreas Heinz and Stefan Beck},
url = {https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/19183},
doi = {10.1024/1661-4747/a000255},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
journal = {Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, Psychologie und Psychotherapie},
volume = {64},
number = {1},
pages = {7--18},
abstract = {Interdisciplinarity has become a desideratum within sciences and politics. At the same time, there is no consensus about how to structure or operationalize interdisciplinary activities. In this article a co-laborative interaction between ethnology and psychiatry will be described. It will be focussed on methodological queries in order to be able to deduce claims for the development of praxis-oriented research designs. It will be elaborated in which sense ethnographic methods might contribute to represent and evaluate the complexity of the everyday within the clinical routines and the daily lives of patients and their families.},
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Interdisciplinarity has become a desideratum within sciences and politics. At the same time, there is no consensus about how to structure or operationalize interdisciplinary activities. In this article a co-laborative interaction between ethnology and psychiatry will be described. It will be focussed on methodological queries in order to be able to deduce claims for the development of praxis-oriented research designs. It will be elaborated in which sense ethnographic methods might contribute to represent and evaluate the complexity of the everyday within the clinical routines and the daily lives of patients and their families.
Milena Bister, Martina Klausner, Jörg Niewöhner
The cosmopolitics of "niching": Rendering the city habitable along infrastructures of mental health care Book Section
In: Anders Blok, Ignacio Farías (Ed.): Urban Cosmopolitics: Agencements, Assemblies, Atmospheres, pp. 187–206, Routledge, Abingdon and New York, 2016.
@incollection{BisterKlausnerNiewohner2016,
title = {The cosmopolitics of "niching": Rendering the city habitable along infrastructures of mental health care},
author = {Milena Bister and Martina Klausner and Jörg Niewöhner},
editor = {Anders Blok and Ignacio Farías},
url = {https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/20135},
year = {2016},
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booktitle = {Urban Cosmopolitics: Agencements, Assemblies, Atmospheres},
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2015
Martina Klausner, Milena Bister, Jörg Niewöhner, Stefan Beck
Choreografien klinischer und städtischer Alltage: Ergebnisse einer ko-laborativen Ethnografie mit der Sozialpsychiatrie Journal Article
In: Zeitschrift für Volkskunde, vol. 111, no. 2, pp. 214–235, 2015.
@article{KlausnerBisterNiewohner2015,
title = {Choreografien klinischer und städtischer Alltage: Ergebnisse einer ko-laborativen Ethnografie mit der Sozialpsychiatrie},
author = {Martina Klausner and Milena Bister and Jörg Niewöhner and Stefan Beck},
url = {https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/19240},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-01-01},
journal = {Zeitschrift für Volkskunde},
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number = {2},
pages = {214--235},
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2014
Milena Bister, Jörg Niewöhner (Ed.)
Panama Verlag, Berlin, 2014.
@collection{BisterNiewohner2014,
title = {Alltag in der Psychiatrie im Wandel: Ethnographische Perspektiven auf Wissen, Technologie und Autonomie},
editor = {Milena Bister and Jörg Niewöhner},
url = {https://www.panama-verlag.de/programm/alltag-psychiatrie/
http://d-nb.info/1052354998},
year = {2014},
date = {2014-07-01},
publisher = {Panama Verlag},
address = {Berlin},
series = {Berliner Blätter},
abstract = {Die psychiatrische Versorgungslandschaft durchläuft derzeit in Berlin wie anderenorts einen signifikanten Wandel in Richtung »offener« Behandlungsangebote. »Offen« bezeichnet dabei den Wunsch, den Psychiatrie-erfahrenen Menschen mehr Mitsprache in der Therapie zukommen zu lassen. Recovery-Gruppen, Behandlungskonferenzen oder das gemeinsame Formulieren von Arztbriefen sind Beispiele dieser neuen Formen. Der vorliegende Band nimmt diese Änderungen als konkrete Praktiken in ihren klinischen Alltagen ethnographisch unter die Lupe. Ausgehend von Ansätzen der Wissensanthropologie, der Science and Technology Studies und der feministischen Anthropologien fokussiert der Band Fragen von Wissen, Technologie und Autonomie im gegenwärtigen Versorgungsalltag.},
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Die psychiatrische Versorgungslandschaft durchläuft derzeit in Berlin wie anderenorts einen signifikanten Wandel in Richtung »offener« Behandlungsangebote. »Offen« bezeichnet dabei den Wunsch, den Psychiatrie-erfahrenen Menschen mehr Mitsprache in der Therapie zukommen zu lassen. Recovery-Gruppen, Behandlungskonferenzen oder das gemeinsame Formulieren von Arztbriefen sind Beispiele dieser neuen Formen. Der vorliegende Band nimmt diese Änderungen als konkrete Praktiken in ihren klinischen Alltagen ethnographisch unter die Lupe. Ausgehend von Ansätzen der Wissensanthropologie, der Science and Technology Studies und der feministischen Anthropologien fokussiert der Band Fragen von Wissen, Technologie und Autonomie im gegenwärtigen Versorgungsalltag.
2011
Milena D. Bister
Discovering informed consent: A case study on the practice of informed consent to tissue donation in Austria Book Section
In: Christian Lenk, Nils Hoppe, Katharina Beier und Claudia Wiesemann (Ed.): Human Tissue Research: A Discussion of the Ethical and Legal Challenges from a European Perspective, pp. 169–178, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2011.
@incollection{Bister2011,
title = {Discovering informed consent: A case study on the practice of informed consent to tissue donation in Austria},
author = {Milena D. Bister},
editor = {Christian Lenk and Nils Hoppe and Katharina Beier und Claudia Wiesemann},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-01-01},
booktitle = {Human Tissue Research: A Discussion of the Ethical and Legal Challenges from a European Perspective},
pages = {169--178},
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chapter = {17},
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2009
Ulrike Felt, Milena D. Bister, Michael Strassnig, Ursula Wagner
Refusing the Information Paradigm: Informed Consent, Medical Research, and Patient Participation Journal Article
In: Health, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 87–106, 2009.
@article{FeltBisterStrassnig2009,
title = {Refusing the Information Paradigm: Informed Consent, Medical Research, and Patient Participation},
author = {Ulrike Felt and Milena D. Bister and Michael Strassnig and Ursula Wagner},
doi = {10.1177/1363459308097362},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-01-01},
journal = {Health},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {87--106},
abstract = {This article challenges the assumption that patient autonomy can best be assured by providing proper information through formalized procedures such as informed consent. We suggest that to understand and consider laypeople's ways of knowing and decision making, one has to move beyond the information paradigm and take into account a much broader context. Concretely, we investigate informed consent in connection with donating skin tissue remaining from medically indicated surgery. We use interviews with patients and observation protocols to analyse patients' perceptions and ways of making sense of informed consent beyond its bioethical ideal. Patients situate themselves in a larger system of solidarity, enrol in an overall positive image of science as a linear process of innovation oriented towards output, and simultaneously take a pragmatic stance towards hospital routines as a necessary passage point towards receiving good treatment. Because informed consent is one of the central articulations between the biomedical system and society, we conclude by reflecting on the consequences of our findings on a socio-political level.},
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This article challenges the assumption that patient autonomy can best be assured by providing proper information through formalized procedures such as informed consent. We suggest that to understand and consider laypeople's ways of knowing and decision making, one has to move beyond the information paradigm and take into account a much broader context. Concretely, we investigate informed consent in connection with donating skin tissue remaining from medically indicated surgery. We use interviews with patients and observation protocols to analyse patients' perceptions and ways of making sense of informed consent beyond its bioethical ideal. Patients situate themselves in a larger system of solidarity, enrol in an overall positive image of science as a linear process of innovation oriented towards output, and simultaneously take a pragmatic stance towards hospital routines as a necessary passage point towards receiving good treatment. Because informed consent is one of the central articulations between the biomedical system and society, we conclude by reflecting on the consequences of our findings on a socio-political level.
Milena D. Bister
„Jemand kommt zu Dir und sagt bitte“: Eine empirische Studie zur Gewebespende im Krankenhauskontext Journal Article
In: Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 72–78, 2009.
@article{Bister2009b,
title = {„Jemand kommt zu Dir und sagt bitte“: Eine empirische Studie zur Gewebespende im Krankenhauskontext},
author = {Milena D. Bister},
doi = {10.1007/s11614-009-0014-7},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-01-01},
journal = {Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie},
volume = {34},
number = {2},
pages = {72--78},
abstract = {Biomedizinische Forschung gewann in den letzten Jahrzehnten besonders in westlichen Gesellschaften verstärkt an Bedeutung. Da dieser Forschungszweig vielfach auf Verwendung menschlicher Körpersubstanzen angewiesen ist, finden sich immer mehr Menschen in einer Doppelrolle als PatientIn und SpenderIn wieder. Dieser Artikel widmet sich der Entscheidungsfindung von Personen, die während der Vorbereitung auf einen plastisch-chirurgischen Eingriff schriftlich im Informed-Consent-(IC-)Gespräch um eine Gewebespende gefragt werden. Während in bioethischen Debatten oft angenommen wird, dass sich PatientInnen aufgrund der dargebotenen Information für oder gegen eine Einwilligung entscheiden, fokussiere ich in der vorliegenden Arbeit auf die Umstände und Überlegungen, die im IC-Gespräch zur Zustimmung der PatientInnen führen. Dabei diskutiere ich, wie PatientInnen die Frage nach einer Gewebespende sozial als Bitte erfahren und wie sich diese Auffassung auf ihre Einwilligungsbereitschaft auswirkt. Das Ziel des Beitrags ist, ein Verständnis von IC-Prozessen anzuregen, das über den dominanten bioethischen Diskurs des rationalen Entscheidens hinausgeht.},
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Biomedizinische Forschung gewann in den letzten Jahrzehnten besonders in westlichen Gesellschaften verstärkt an Bedeutung. Da dieser Forschungszweig vielfach auf Verwendung menschlicher Körpersubstanzen angewiesen ist, finden sich immer mehr Menschen in einer Doppelrolle als PatientIn und SpenderIn wieder. Dieser Artikel widmet sich der Entscheidungsfindung von Personen, die während der Vorbereitung auf einen plastisch-chirurgischen Eingriff schriftlich im Informed-Consent-(IC-)Gespräch um eine Gewebespende gefragt werden. Während in bioethischen Debatten oft angenommen wird, dass sich PatientInnen aufgrund der dargebotenen Information für oder gegen eine Einwilligung entscheiden, fokussiere ich in der vorliegenden Arbeit auf die Umstände und Überlegungen, die im IC-Gespräch zur Zustimmung der PatientInnen führen. Dabei diskutiere ich, wie PatientInnen die Frage nach einer Gewebespende sozial als Bitte erfahren und wie sich diese Auffassung auf ihre Einwilligungsbereitschaft auswirkt. Das Ziel des Beitrags ist, ein Verständnis von IC-Prozessen anzuregen, das über den dominanten bioethischen Diskurs des rationalen Entscheidens hinausgeht.
2008
Milena D. Bister, Ulrike Felt, Michael Strassnig und Ursula Wagner
Zeit und Partizipation im transdisziplinären Forschungsprozess Book Section
In: Elisabeth Reitinger (Ed.): Transdisziplinäre Praxis: Forschen im Sozial- und Gesundheitswesen, pp. 35–46, Carl-Auer, Heidelberg, 2008.
@incollection{BisterFeltStrassnig2008,
title = {Zeit und Partizipation im transdisziplinären Forschungsprozess},
author = {Milena D. Bister and Ulrike Felt and Michael Strassnig und Ursula Wagner},
editor = {Elisabeth Reitinger},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-01-01},
booktitle = {Transdisziplinäre Praxis: Forschen im Sozial- und Gesundheitswesen},
pages = {35--46},
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