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E-Mail: maximilian.brockhaus@univie.ac.at

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Curriculum Vitae

List of Publications

Dr. Maximilian Brockhaus, BA MA

Maximilian Brockhaus has been a research fellow at the Institute of Contemporary History at the University of Vienna since May 1, 2026. From 2021 to 2026, he worked there as a research assistant (pre-doc) in research and teaching. Under the supervision of Prof. Oliver Rathkolb, he received his doctorate on March 30, 2026, with his dissertation on Austrian school broadcasting. He was a visiting scholar at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut in Hamburg during the 2023/24 winter semester and served as a Research Fellow at the Center for Austrian Studies at the University of Minnesota from September 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, as part of a Marietta-Blau Fellowship from the OeAD

In his dissertation project, “Between Education and Propaganda: Austrian School Radio from 1924 to 1955,” he examined school radio in Austria and Europe from a media-historical perspective. These were systematic educational broadcasts intended for use in the classroom, aimed at students aged 9 to 18. In the history of school radio—which is dated to the commencement of operations by Ravag on October 1, 1924—the formative potential and normative expectations of various actors regarding new media and their educational possibilities were examined from institutional, programmatic, and transnational perspectives.

Finally, the project addressed questions relevant not only to media and contemporary history but also to current debates on new media: How did pedagogical concepts, technical innovations, and social developments interact with one another? How did media formats influence the design of educational content, and what role did national and transnational discourses play in this process? The dissertation analyzed the historical significance of school radio as an interface between education, media, and society, and ultimately highlighted its relevance for current debates on digital education and media literacy.

His research interests focus on the theoretical and practical examination of how (contemporary) history is taught, as well as a multi-perspective, interdisciplinary view of public history. A particular focus of his research and teaching concerns the field of tension between "Democracy and the Digital Revolution", whereby the historical genesis of media and digital developments, the interaction between media and society, and the classification of current developments in the fields of AI and the like for our democratic coexistence are at the forefront.

He was the project manager of the digitisation project: "Hugo Portisch – A liberal-minded Viennese from Pressburg", where the extensive written legacy of Hugo Portisch is being digitised, transcribed and prepared for further scientific use. He is also a founding member and editor of the podcast "Doctor it!" at the Doctoral School of Historical and Cultural Studies (DSHCS) and Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences (ViDSS).

News

Guest Lecture at the University of Knoxville, Tennessee on "Interwar educational broadcasting in Europe and the U.S." (10. April 2025)

"Austrian Scientists in the USA describe a climate of uncertainty and fear" (Interview, Universität Wien) (1. April 2025)

"Educate, Enlighten, Entertain - Interwar educational broadcasting in Europe and the U.S." (Vortrag, University of Minnesota) (26. März 2025)

Maximilian Brockhaus, Der Schulfunker, in: Konrad Mitschka, Karin Moser, Stefan Benedik (Hg.), Radiomomente, Erinnerungen und Analysen zu 100 Jahren Radio in Österreich, 134 (1. Oktober 2024)

University of Minnesota: CAS welcomes Maximilian Brockhaus as the 2024-25 Doctoral Research Fellow from Austria (24. September 2024)

Digitale Bildung auf Universitätsniveau - MOOC "Demokratie und Digitale Revolution" im Kurier (28. Juni 2024)

Start des Onlinkurses (MOOC) "Demokratie und Digitale Revolution" (1. April 2024)

Interview mit Johanna Sebauer für den Podcast "Bredowcast" zum Schulfunk und Schulfernsehen (March 27, 2024)

Interview für ORF-Topos, "Der Bürgerkrieg kommt über den Äther" (February 12, 2024)

Interview im RISE-Magazin der Universität Wien zum Thema "Künstliche Intelligenz an der Universität (October 2023)

Podcast Beitrag für ORF-Topos: "Der 35.000 Seiten lange Nachlass von Hugo Portisch" (July 15, 2023)

Virtuelles Gedenken zum Stichwort "Zivilcourage": Beitrag für das Mauthausen Komitee Österreich (April 20, 2023)

Interview im Falter.maily zum Einsatz von ChatGPT bei Prüfungen an der Universität (February 15, 2023)

Paneldiskussion und Votrag im Rathaus der Stadt Wien zu ChatGPT, KI's und Co. im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Demokratie und Digitale Revolution" (January 26, 2023)

Kick-Off-Veranstaltung der Ringvorlesung "Demokratie und Digitale Revolution" im Rathaus der Stadt Wien (October 6, 2022)

Podcast: "Der Fall Franz Murer" (September 6, 2022)

Ö1 Betrifft: Geschichte | Junge Zeitgeschichte (August 29, 2022)

Tagungsbericht: "Transformations of Freedom. First RECET History and Social Sciences Festival". Zusammen mit Julia Schulte-Werning. (August 28, 2022)

Lange Nacht der Forschung: Hugo Portischs Erbe (May 20, 2022)

Maximilian Brockhaus/Nahla Hamula/Andreas Prentner, Wer wohnt im Franz-Novy-Hof, in: Jan Svenungsson/Flora Zimmeter (Hg.), Kunst am Gemeindebau, Ein Projekt für den Franz-Novy-Hof in Wien, Wien/Basel 2022, 34-35. (March 16, 2022)

Maximilian Brockhaus, Das Schulfernsehen als Instrument nationaler und europäischer Geschichts- und Erinnerungspolitik, in: Rundfunk und Geschichte 48 (2022) 1-2, 104-107. (January 2022)