Barbara Grabher works within the field of Event Studies and more specifically contributes to the subfield of Critical Event Studies through her research on event-based regeneration/development and value negiotiations. 

Strongly informed by an interdisciplinary research approach, her interest lies in the socio-political and socio-cultural significance of events. With a focus on event formats such as the UK City of Culture, European Capital of Culture and Eurovision Song Contest, Barbara Grabher conceptualises events as 'tools for meaning making' (Grabher, 2022: 3), which serve as platforms to negotiate social, cultural and political values in cities, regions and nations.  

Currently, Barbara Grabher is leading the project "Between Culture and Salt" (2021-ongoing), which explores in what way the concept of the Anthropocene and human-environmental relationships are informing the event-based regeneration process of Salzkammergut European Capital of Culture 2024. 

Urban/ Regional Regeneration, (Critical) Event Studies, Qualitative/ Ethnographic Research Methods. 

Dr Barbara Grabher is a trained Anthropologist with a specialisation in Gender Studies and interest in Critical Event Studies. With this background, she investigates event-based urban/ regional regeneration and associated socio-cultural value negotiations.

Her educational trajectory is informed by the Universities of Vienna (BA), Granada (MA), Utrecht (MA), Oviedo (PhD) and Hull (PhD). In 2020, she completed her doctoral research project, Gendering Cities of Culture, investigating the case studies of Hull UK City of Culture 2017 and Donostia/San Sebastian European Capital of Culture 2016 in their potential to negotiate of cultures of gender equality. After a two-year postdoctoral phase at the University of Graz (2020-2022), she joined University of Brighton as a Lecturer in October 2022 and researches and teaches in the context of Event and Tourism Studies/ Management.

Barbara Grabher is the Course Leader for the BSc programmes International Event Management and International Tourism Management and the University of Brighton Early Career Ambassador. 

In my role as a lecturer, I understand myself as a facilitator of knowledge in as well as beyond the classroom setting. My teaching is very informed by the principles of the flipped classroom and aspires to enable students to think outside the box and therefore critically about their subject of study. Hereby, this facilitator’s role is guided by the following key approaches:

• Research-informed teaching: As a university lecturer, I am teaching as well as researching in the subject area of Event Studies. Therefore, my teaching contents are very much informed by my past and current research projects. The case studies, analytical perspectives as well as study materials often derive from my continuous engagements with my research field. Simultaneously, I also let my teaching influence my research. Therefore, classroom-based debates as well as students’ critical inquiries strongly impact my research trajectory.
• Game-based learning: The role of facilitation requires me to think about the best ways to communicate taught contents. One of my preferred strategies, hereby, is the usage of role plays, gaming principles and digital methods in my teaching approach. Game-based learning allows me to construct a learning environment, which allows experimentation and risk taking as well as empathy and emotional understanding. Games construct narratives, which allow to grasp abstractions in a more accessible way.
• Creative didactical resources: The handling of complexities in the field of event studies influences as well my final approach to teaching. Hereby, my interest lies on the usage of creative tools as pedagogical approach. On selected occasions, I employ techniques of creative writing, crafting and drawing in order to lighten the mood but as well deepen the understanding of the thematic enquiries.