Team > MA Valerie V. V. Gruber

Faculty of Biology, Chemistry & Earth Sciences
Research Group Social Geography

Research priorities

• Social and moral geographies of global inequalities
• (Post)coloniality and racism
• Inter- and transculturality
• Social arts and cultural projects
• Transdisciplinary coproduction of knowledges and artistic research methods
• Latin America and the African diaspora (in particular Brazil and Colombia)

Biography

Valerie V. V. Gruber is a research associate in the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth since December 2019 and a Junior Fellow at the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) since February 2020. As part of her PhD project, she develops transdisciplinary methods of knowledge co-production and carries out Participatory Action Research on questions of a good life with young artists and community actors from the African diaspora in Brazil and Colombia. During her Bachelor's and Master's degree in International Cultural and Business Studies at the University of Passau (Germany), she specialised in the Ibero-Romance cultural area and gained professional experience at the BMW Group in Munich, Audi in Mexico and the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation in Brazil, among others. Thanks to several grants and scholarships, she spent exchange semesters and research stays at the University of La Laguna (Spain), the Federal University of Bahia (Brazil) and the University of Valle (Colombia). Before starting her doctorate, she served as a lecturer at the Chair of Social and Population Geography at the University of Bayreuth. After that, she worked as a research associate at the Institute of African Studies, conducting a pilot study on creative industries in Africa on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Currently, she is dedicating herself to the following three projects:

• Research project “Moral Geographies of Re-Existence” as part of the Research Section Moralities at the Cluster of Excellence “Africa Multiple: Reconfiguring African Studies”
• PhD project “Moral Geographies of (Re-) Existence: A Comparative Analysis of Socio-cultural Projects from Afro-descendant Communities in Salvador da Bahia (Brazil) and Cartagena de Indias (Colombia)“ at the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS)
• Transdisciplinary project “DjumbaiALA: Dialogues of African and Afro-diasporic Knowledges in the Multimedia Age“ sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Awards and Scholarships

Faculty of Biology, Chemistry & Earth Sciences
Research Group Social Geography

Publications

Articles in a journal

Rigoberto Banguero Velasco, Valerie V. V. Gruber: Emancipatory Methodologies : Knowledge Production and (Re)existence of the Misak People in Colombia. In: PACHA, 3 (2022). - S. 1-15.
doi:10.46652/pacha.v3i8.95

Sandra Amelia Martí, Valerie V. V. Gruber: Arte de frontera : (re)creando intersticios en Tijuana y Salvador de Bahía. In: Diseño y Sociedad, (2022). - S. 54-67.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Transdisciplinary Connections : Afro-Latin America meets Bayreuth. In: Newsletter of African Studies at the University of Bayreuth, 20 (2021). - S. 92-93.

Cláudio Manoel Duarte de Souza, Valerie V. V. Gruber, Diana Carolina Mignano, Gilbert Shang Ndi: DjumbaiALA : Contributing to Polyphonic Dialogues across the Middle Passage. In: Newsletter of African Studies at the University of Bayreuth, XVIII (2020). - S. 82-83.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Identidades multiterritorializadas : Una mirada relacional sobre los procesos de construcción identitaria en la comunidad de Candeal en Salvador de Bahía (Brasil). In: Entorno Geográfico, (2018). - S. 24-49.
doi:10.25100/eg.v0i16.7132

Fernando Santos de Jesus, Valerie V. V. Gruber: O mestre de capoeira : fortalecendo filosofias e práticas de (re)existência negra perante desigualdades sociorraciais. In: Outros Tempos, 15 (2018). - S. 126-146.
doi:10.18817/ot.v15i26.659

Valerie V. V. Gruber, Eberhard Rothfuß: Interkulturelle Managementforschung : Reflexive Gedanken über eine unreflektierte Denkschule. In: Interculture Journal, 15 (2016). - S. 117-137.

Jan Woischnik, Valerie V. V. Gruber: Kommunalwahlen im Land der Politikverdrossenheit. In: Tópicos, 55 (2016). - S. 16-18.

Books / Monographs

Todo Rio Resiste Mar : Cartografias de Memorias Afrolatinas. - Valerie V. V. Gruber, Gilbert Shang Ndi (Hrsg.). - Conceição da Feira, Bahia : Andarilha Edições, 2023. - 175 S.

Patrimônios e Identidades em (Re)Construções : Tensões, Embates e Negociações. - Valerie V. V. Gruber, Fernando Santos de Jesus (Hrsg.). - Rio de Janeiro : Telha, 2020. - 276 S.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Der Habitus der brasilianischen Favelas : Ein städtischer Kulturraum?. - München : GRIN Verlag, 2015. - 41 S.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Nachwachsende Rohstoffe als Treibstoff : Brasilien als Vorbild für die Welt?. - München : GRIN Verlag, 2014. - 41 S.

Articles in a book

Valerie V. V. Gruber, Gilbert Shang Ndi: Embarque. In: Valerie V. V. Gruber, Gilbert Shang Ndi (Hrsg.): Todo Rio Resiste Mar : Cartografias de Memorias Afrolatinas. - Conceição da Feira, Bahia : Andarilha Edições, 2023. - S. 12-19.

Valerie V. V. Gruber, Gilbert Shang Ndi, Rigoberto Banguero Velasco: Towards Transcultural Self-Writing : Mapping the Struggles of Minoritised Cultures in Colombia. In: Julika Baumann Montecinos, Tobias Grünfelder, Josef Wieland (Hrsg.): A Relational View on Cultural Complexity : Implications for Theory and Practice. - Cham : Springer, 2023. - S. 173-189.
doi:10.1007/978-3-031-27454-1_9

Rigoberto Banguero Velasco, Valerie V. V. Gruber: El muntu afrodiaspórico en el mundo-vida del Chocó, Colombia. In: Rigoberto Banguero Velasco (Hrsg.): Historicidad y culturalidad afro en el norte del Cauca. - Cali, Kolumbien : Poemia, 2020. - S. 64-83.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Identificando Pesquisadores Pesquisando Identidades : Rumo a uma Análise Reflexiva dos Processos Identitários na (Co)Produção de Conhecimentos. In: Valerie V. V. Gruber, Fernando Santos de Jesus (Hrsg.): Patrimônios e Identidades em (Re)Construções : Tensões, Embates e Negociações. - Rio de Janeiro : Telha, 2020. - S. 19-49.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Relational Geographies of Afro-Brazilian Identities : What Can We Learn from the Candeal Neighborhood in Salvador Da Bahia (Brazil)?. In: Volker Depkat, Britta Waldschmidt-Nelson, Jasmin Falk (Hrsg.): Cultural Mobility and Knowledge Formation in the Americas. - Heidelberg : Universitätsverlag Winter, 2019. - S. 95-119.

Conference items

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Social Delta Formation : A Grounded Theory Approach to Afro-Latin American Cityscapes. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), 16.-20. Apr. 2024, Honolulu, USA.

Valerie V. V. Gruber, Gilbert Shang Ndi: Reimagining Territoriality : Co-creating knowledges through Afro-diasporic lenses in Brazil and Colombia. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Annual Conference of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence “Reconfiguring African Studies through Spatialities”, 11.-14.10.2023, Bayreuth, Germany.

Valerie V. V. Gruber, Gilbert Shang Ndi: Mafone : dance theatre for knowledge co-creation. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: 1st Colloquium on Latin America - Summer Term 2023, 14.Juni 2023, Bayreuth, Germany.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Participatory Action Research in Afro-Latin America : a methodology to imagine and build a life in dignity. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: ECAS9 2023: 9th European Conference on African Studies “African Futures”, 31 May - 03 Jun 2023, Cologne, Germany.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Artistic Quests for Dignity : Researching (Re-)Existence across the Black Atlantic. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: The ALARI Second Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies, 07.-09. Dez. 2022, Cambridge (Massachusetts), USA.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: DjumbaiALA : Dialoge afrikanischer und afro-diasporischer Wissensformen im multimedialen Zeitalter. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Science Slam am Brasilientag des BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung), 02.-03. Jun. 2022, Bonn, Deutschland.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Co-producing video performances across the Black Atlantic : an approach to participatory research-creation. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: VAD 2022 "Africa-Europe: Reciprocal Perspectives" (Conference of the Association for African Studies in Germany), 07.-10.Jun. 2022, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.

Gilbert Shang Ndi, Valerie V. V. Gruber: L’héritage culturel de l’UNESCO et ses « autres » : analyse critique des traces de l’africanité à San Basilio de Palenque (Colombie) dans une optique relationnelle. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Workshop "L'Atlantique noir revisité: Espaces occultés et (in)visibles de la mémoire performative", 28.-30.03.2022, Dakar, Senegal.

Carolina Beleño Garcia, Valerie V. V. Gruber, Gilbert Shang Ndi, Matchume Zango: O que é bom? Memórias de uma geração com cheiro de café. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: VII Congresso Internacional sobre Culturas "Reencantar as Culturas", 24.-26. Nov. 2021, Online.

Rigoberto Banguero Velasco, Valerie V. V. Gruber: Participatory Action Research : The Persistence of Utopias. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Participatory Action Research Workshop at the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies - BIGSAS, 14.-15. Okt. 2021, Bayreuth, Deutschland.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Reciprocity in Diversity : Doing Collaborative Research with Afro-Diasporic Communities. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Solidarity in Diversity : Highlighting Marginal Voices in Academia, Practice and Society, 19.-23. July 2021, Melbourne, Australia (online).

Ute Fendler, Valerie V. V. Gruber, Gilbert Shang Ndi: Relational Transdisciplinarity and Artistic/Academic Knowledge Production. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Annual Conference of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence “Africa*n Relations : Modalities Reflected”, 14.-17. Jul. 2021, Bayreuth, Deutschland , online.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Moralgeographien der (Re-)Existenz : Soziale Kulturprojekte in Salvador (Brasilien) und Cartagena (Kolumbien). - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: ADLAF-Tagung 2021 : Wissen, Macht und digitale Transformation in Lateinamerika, 23.06. – 2.07.2021, München, Deutschland (online).

Valerie V. V. Gruber, Sandra Amelia Martí: Intersticios de frontera : artivismos en Tijuana y Salvador de Bahía. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: LASA 2021 : Crisis global, Desigualdades y centralidad de la vida (XXXIX International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association), 26.–29. Mai 2021, Vancouver, Kanada / online.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Fluid Fields : The Un/Making of the Research Field in Transdisciplinary Knowledge Co-Production. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Workshop of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research and the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence : Fielding the Field, 21.05.2021, Johannesburg, Südafrika ; Bayreuth, Deutschland.

Valerie V. V. Gruber, Eberhard Rothfuß: Co-Creating Knowledge with Afro-Diasporic Communities : Reflections on a Participatory Research Process. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence : Research Retreat, 05.-07.05.2021, Bayreuth, Deutschland.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Epistemologies of the Body : Cultural Resistance in Salvador (Brazil) and Cartagena (Colombia). - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: XXIV Biennial Graduate Student Colloquium : Hegemonic Ideologies and Resistance in Iberian, Latin American, and Latinx Languages, Literatures and Cultures, 25.-26. Feb. 2021, Austin, USA / online.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Moral Geographies of (Re-)Existence : Glimpses of Afro-Latin American lifeworlds. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Research Section Moralities Meeting, 09. Jul. 2020, Bayreuth, Deutschland / online.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Movimiento social creativo : (Re-)construyendo identidades en la Roma Negra. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Capacitación docente de la Institución Educativa San Antonio, 07. Jul. 2020, Santander de Quilichao, Kolumbien / online.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Weltkulturerbe, Widerstand und Multiterritorialität : Künstlerische Praktiken marginalisierter Gruppen in Salvador (Brasilien) und Cartagena (Kolumbien). - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Deutscher Kongress für Geographie 2019 : Umbrüche und Aufbrüche – Geographie(n) der Zukunft, 25. - 30. September 2019, Kiel, Germany.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Crossing the Walls of Cartagena : Resistance and (Re-)Existence through Afro-Colombian Music and Dance. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: 6th Biannual Ethnicity, Race, and Indigenous Peoples’ Conference : ERIP 2019 “Bridges and Walls Across the Americas : Dialogues of Survivance, Endurance, and Resistance”, 12.-14. Sept. 2019, Spokane, USA.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: (Un)Masking Afro-Brazilian Carnival Groups : Machtbeziehungen und die Rolle der Frauen in den Blocos Afros in Salvador da Bahia. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Neither black nor white? Schwarzenbewegungen in den USA und Brasilien im 20. Jahrhundert, Regensburg, Deutschland.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: ¿De la inclusión urbana a la inclusión social? El caso de la comunidad de Candeal en Salvador de Bahía (Brasil). - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: LASA2019 "Nuestra América : Justice and Inclusion" (XXXVII International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association), 24.-27. Mai 2019, Boston, USA.

Zaida Liz Patiño Gómez, Valerie V. V. Gruber: Rumbo a una geografía emancipatoria. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: XVII Encuentro de Geógrafos de América Latina, EGAL 2019, 09.-12. Apr. 2019, Quito, Ecuador.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Emprendimiento social, multiterritorialidad y el potencial de intercambios interculturales. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Oportunidades de estudiar becados en Alemania, Universidad del Valle - Sede Pacífico, 23. Jan. 2019, Buenaventura, Kolumbien.

Ute Fendler, Valerie V. V. Gruber, Sebastian Norck: Förderung von Kreativwirtschaft in Afrika durch die deutsche entwicklungspolitische Zusammenarbeit : Präsentation der Ergebnisse. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Abschlusstreffen zur Pilotstudie "Kreativwirtschaft in Afrika", Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ), 04.07.2018, Berlin.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Emprendimiento social en comunidades socialmente excluidas : Salvador da Bahia (Brasil) y Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) en comparación. - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Diálogos Étnico-Raciales : África, América, Europa, 27.11.-02.12.2017, Cali, Kolumbien.

Fernando Santos de Jesus, Valerie V. V. Gruber: A estética da (re)existência : olhares filosóficos sobre o mestre de capoeira. - (Paper), Veranstaltung: XIII ENECULT : Encontro de Estudos Multidisciplinares em Cultura, 12.-15.09.2017, Salvador da Bahia, Brasilien.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: Desafíos metodológicos entre la investigación de campo y la formulación de la tesis : experiencias de un estudio cualitativo en la comunidad de Candeal en Salvador da Bahia (Brasil). - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: Curso de Posgrado en Sociología en la Universidad del Valle : Diseño Etnográfico, Feb.-Juni 2017, Cali, Kolumbien.

Valerie V. V. Gruber: A construção de identidades afro-brasileiras na comunidade do Candeal em Salvador da Bahia (Brasil). - (Vortrag), Veranstaltung: XVIII Fábrica de Ideias : Patrimônio, Desigualdade e Políticas Culturais (Escola Doutoral Internacional), 18.-31. März 2017, São Luís do Maranhão, Brasilien.

Working papers

Valerie V. V. Gruber, Jamile Borges da Silva: Strömungen des Schwarzen Atlantiks. Über akademische und politische Aushandlungen in der brasilianischen Afro-Diaspora. - Bayreuth, 2024. - 28 S.
doi:10.15495/EPub_UBT_00007501

Faculty of Biology, Chemistry & Earth Sciences
Research Group Social Geography

MA Valerie V. V. Gruber
Project Staff (Cluster of Excellence)

Room: 2.22, NW III

Office hours: upon appointment

Phone: +49 (0) 921 / 55-7894
E-mail: Valerie.Gruber@uni-bayreuth.de