Martin Siegler joined the Faculty of Media in 2019 after completing his doctorate at the Media Anthropology Center of Excellence (KOMA). In his doctoral dissertation for which he has now been acknowledged, he investigated the existential significance of the use of media and communication tools in the rescue of disaster survivors. »Beacons on the high seas, knocking in rubble, SOS signals on the radio or Facebook posts during terrorist attacks. Endangered lives can only be saved when they give signs. But what affects whether signs of life are detected or overlooked? Which media are needed to send and receive signs of life? And are we equally receptive to them all? My dissertation in media and cultural studies draws on examples from 100 years of disaster history to explore these questions. It shows that endangered lives depend on complex technical conditions, political decisions and ethical trade-offs that we need to critically question in order to remain sensitive to future emergencies,« Siegler explains.

The award-winning dissertation was supervised by Prof. Dr. Lorenz Engell (Professor of Media Philosophy, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar) and Prof. Dr. Gabriele Schabacher (Professor of Media Cultural Studies, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz). Martin Siegler was already awarded a »summa cum laude« for his dissertation in September 2021, i.e. the highest possible distinction, and is now preparing to publish his work.

Every year, the German Study Award honours outstanding young academics from all disciplines. The Körber Foundation awards prizes endowed with more than 100,000 euros in total for outstanding dissertations of particular social significance, making it one of the most highly endowed prizes for young academics in Germany. Siegler will receive 5,000 euros in prize money for his second place in the humanities and cultural studies section.

Bundestag President Bärbel Bas, who is the patron of the German Study Award, will confer the award on 12 December 2022 during the official prize ceremony at the German Parliamentary Society in Berlin.

In case of questions, please contact Juliane Seeber, Public Relations and Marketing Officer for the Faculty of Media (juliane.seeber[at]uni-weimar.de; + 49 (0) 36 43 / 58 37 06).