Wirth Research Associate Jim Morrow awarded research grant from the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies

6 July 2020

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Wirth Research Associate Jim Morrow awarded research grant from the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies

Wirth Institute Research Associate Jim Morrow has been awarded a large research grant from the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies. The project will examine how immigrants from Habsburg Austria who settled in North American mountain communities used architecture and design to create a sense of togetherness. For his research, Jim will travel from Edmonton to Aspen, Colorado, and on to Berlin, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck.

We congratulate Jim on this wonderful achievement and wish him much success with this exciting project!

For more on Jim and his research, check out this recent interview in Folio.

Jim Morrow, Research Associate, Wirth Institute

Jim Morrow is an ethnographer and environmental sociologist. He has a Doktor der Philosophie in Soziologie from Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Bavaria. His other degrees include an MA in politics from the University of Victoria and a BA from Western Colorado University. And he received additional formation at Nottingham Trent University in England and Linnéuniversitetet in Sweden. 

At the Wirth Institute, Jim is leading the Gemütlichkeit Projekt, which is an ethnographic study of the sense of togetherness in Austrian culture. The Projekt will examine the cultural meanings and practises of Gemütlichkeit, and their role in the construction of the Austrian social imaginary.

Prior to his work at the Wirth Institute, Jim was a Research Fellow at the University of Alberta’s City-Region Studies Centre, where he directed the SSHRC-funded activating_space project.   

Jim’s most recent book, Where the Everyday Begins, is a study of environment’s role in everyday life. He has published articles on Zeitdiagnose, urban planning, and cultural studies. And he has worked as a copywriter and editor.  

Away from the University, Jim is an avid cross-country skier and enjoys hiking throughout Alberta.