I am a doctoral candidate, research associate at the Laboratory: Anthropology of Environment | Human Relations and research associate at the Centre Marc Bloch Berlin, where I co-organize the research axe “Dynamics and experiences of Globalization”.
My research interests are Material Culture Studies, Visual anthropology, (Material) Memory Cultures, Cultures of Exchange, Networks (of things), Thingspaces and Human-Environment Relations.
As a visual anthropologist I have been involved in several artistic projects in recent years. My current work is focused on human-thing relations in urban contexts, human-thing-Umwelten, and Thingspaces, like e. g. Selfstorage Facilities.
Contact: petra.beck@cmb.hu-berlin.de
Find me also at: restopia.info | Centre Marc Bloch | Academia
Publications
2020
The Ocean as Thingspace. From the Ocean as ‘Master of Disappearance’ to the ‘Friendly Floatees’ and a new ocean cosmology Book Section
In: Richard Ek, Nils Johannson (Ed.): Opening the Bin: Perspectives on Waste from the Social Sciences and the Humanities, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcawstle upon Tyne, 2020.
2019
Capitalisme sentimental Book Section
In: Martina Nußbaumer, Peter Stuiber/Museum Wien (Ed.): Wo Dinge wohnen. Das Phänomen Selfstorage, Park Books, Zürich, 2019.
Orte der Diskretion Book Section
In: Martina Nußbaumer, Peter Stuiber/Museum Wien (Ed.): Wo Dinge wohnen. Das Phänomen Selfstorage, Park Books, Zürich, 2019.
2016
Restopia – Self-Storage as Urban Practice. »Like a hotel – but for things« Book Section
In: Christiane Lewe, Tim Othold, Nicolas Oxen (Ed.): Müll. Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven auf das Übrig-Gebliebene, Transcript, Bielefeld, 2016.
2013
Häuser für Dinge Journal Article
In: Bauwelt. Das Architekturmagazin, 2013.
2010
Palastmusik. Einheit und Teilung im Stadtbild Berlins Book Section
In: Robert Grünbaum (Ed.): Deutsche Einheit. Ein Überblick 1945 bis heute, pp. 17-20, Metropolverlag, Berlin, 2010.