Dr. Elisabeth Lechner, BA BA MA MA

Elisabeth Lechner is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Department of English and American Studies at the University of Vienna, currently developing a habilitation project on food and “critical digestion” in Anglophone literature (incl. auto/biographical narratives, lockdown novels and ecofeminist fiction). She completed her PhD at the University of Vienna in 2020. Situated at the intersections of literary, cultural and media studies as well as affect & body studies, her research on ‘disgusting’ female bodies, body positivity and digital feminist activisms was published academically and as the German non-fiction book Riot Don't Diet! Aufstand der widerspenstigen Körper (2021, 4th edition).

Apart from engaging in various forms of outreach and media activities, since 2025, Elisabeth Lechner is an ÖAD Science Ambassador (“ÖAD Wissenschaftsbotschafterin”), conducting workshops on media literacy, body shaming and lookism in Viennese schools. Key publications include “#Feminist – Naming Controversies and Celebrating Points of Connection and Joy in Current Feminisms” (2022, together with Greta Olson), “Störkörper” (2025) and co-editing the collected volumes Caring for Cultural Studies (2022) and Talking Bodies IV: Rage and Care Against the Machine (forthcoming with Bloomsbury Academic, 2026).

She is active on social media as @femsista.