I studied Social and Cultural Anthropology, Political Sciences and Geology at the
Eberhard Karls Universität in Tübingen 
As I was about to finish my studies, I had to decide about what topic to write my thesis
I was very interested in the field of medical anthropology and the impact HIV/AIDS has on societies, so I decided to write my thesis about it
This is why I went to Botswana in 2009 and 2010, where I did an internship for about five months within the non-governmental organization Stepping Stones International who deals with this topic, too
In 2013, I made my degree as a Magistra Artium
Shortly after I finished my studies, I started my dissertation project within the graduate programme
"Networks and Resource Complexes" at the Collaborative Research Center "ResourceCultures", which is funded
by the German Research Foundation
Myself, I got a grant from the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
It is planned to finish the dissertation in July 2017
SFB 1070 RessourceCultures
Personal profile SFB1070
Graduate programme
Working title: Affection, materialism, and belonging - the social practice of sex in Botswana.
Sex or sexuality cannot be understand as a universal. What we perceive to be sexual and how we behave sexual is shaped through cultural or social conditions. The title "doing sex" intends to express this.
The project investigates how people are related to each other, how they shape, sustain or alter social strucutres and how sex is used within this framework. Thereupon, a central thesis has been worked out which argues that people relate through networks with each other. Sex becomes a vital resource which creates connections between individuals and social groups or society. In this understanding, sex is not a mere indivdual or physical act between two persons but a social practice, that is shaped by specific social and cultural patterns.
Summary
Title: Big House and Small Houses - Cultural specific concepts of sexuality within the context of the transmission of HIV in Botswana
The aim of the thesis was to find out why a country like Botswana, that does a lot to stem the AIDS pandemic, struggles with it so much. The findings show that a certain cultural construction of sex influences sexual behaviour and therfore also has an impact on the transmission of HIV. As key aspects, have been investigated the importance of reproduction and reciprocity which are pivotal elements of sexual relations in Botswana.
With this master thesis, I won the Sustainability Award 2014 of the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen.
Summary
Press release
Video recording prize-giving (min 47:30)
The intentions of this website are threefold. First, I want to provide more information and knowledge about sex research. There is a huge variety of information and knowledge about it from the natural sciences and psychology but fare more less from social and cultural anthropology. Second, I want to spread the "anthropological way" throughout the world wide web. This "anthropological way" offers a different kind of perspective of (everyday) socico-cultural phenomena. One of the most important skills I learned during my studies is to perceive the "being in the world" from a relative point of position. That means just because I think something is normal, it hasn't to be normal all around the world. The third intention is about that the future of science might be find in the world wide web and not only in books and journals. So, there have to be new ways of presenting knowledge.