Greca N. Meloni, PhD
Environmental Anthropologist and Filmmaker
Current position
Post-doctoral researcher, University of Vienna
Email:
Languages
Italian, Sardinian, English, Spanish, German, French (reading)
Pronoun
Lei / sie-ihr / she-her
Awards
About me
My name is Greca Meloni, and I hold a PhD in Cultural Anthropology (2023, University of Vienna). I focus on the environment from a multispecies perspective. From 2016 to 2022, I conducted ethnographic research on beekeeping in Sardinia. In July 2018, the research project was awarded the DOC Fellowship by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The same project also received the prestigious Theodor Körner Prize (2021) and the Grete Mostny Prize (2024). Thanks to the latter, an abstract of the research was printed on a ceramic surface to be preserved in the Archive of the Memory of Mankind in the Hallstatt Salt Mines (Austria).
Currently, I am engaged in a new research project aimed at exploring the relationships between humans and non-humans in contexts where eucalyptus plants are present, primarily in Italy (Sardinia), Spain (Galicia), and Portugal (Minho).
I employ various visual techniques from a methodological perspective, including ethnographic filmmaking and drawing. My skills in this field stem largely from my foundational training at the Liceo Artistico Statale "Foiso Fois" in Cagliari. In this regard, Giampiero Mascia, Ferruccio Sulis, and especially Beatrice Artizzu have strongly influenced my work from an artistic standpoint.
Education and Research Interests
Ph.D in Cultural and European Anthropology (2023, University of Vienna - Austria).
2015 Master's Degree in Archaeology and History of Art at the University of Cagliari (Italy).
2014-2015 Erasmus student at the University of Wroclaw (Poland).
2012 Bachelor's Degree in Cultural Heritage at the University of Cagliari (Italy).
Identity, Heritigization, Human ecology, Nature/Culture, Human and animal relationship, Visual Anthropology, Beekeeping Sardinia
Working Experience
March 2024 - Current
July 2018- 2020
2018 - 2020
Post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Cultural And Social Anthropology of the University of Vienna
ÖAW Doc-Fellow at the Department of European Ethnology of the Univeristy of Vienna
External lecturer at the Department of European Ethnology of the University of Vienna
Teaching Experience
My Teaching Approach
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I use creative methods to facilitate the understanding of complex concepts, including:
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Drawing
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Creative writing
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Group brainstorming
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In-class activities
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Examples of activities carried out
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In a course on Anthropocene-related themes, I included a sci-fi writing session where students had to imagine an ethnography of a possible future, starting from specific elements drawn from contemporary cultural anthropology.
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For the course "Drawing as a Method of Visual Ethnography," I designed the curriculum so that students can develop skills that go beyond writing a scientific article:
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With one class, we created a permanent exhibition installed in the Department, focusing on an anthropological perspective on human/non-human relationships in the city of Vienna.
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With another class, students produced graphic reviews of scholarly articles from the bibliography, reflecting on the relationship between visual elements and writing in anthropology.
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In my multispecies ethnography courses, some students had the opportunity to visit urban apiaries in Vienna and learn more about beekeeping in the city.
For a complete list of current and previous teaching activities, click here.
Academic Service & Administration
Academic year 2025/2026
Co-organizer of the Wednesday Seminar Series, Department of Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Vienna (with Dr. Ria Maria Adams).
2025/2026
Member of the STUKO (StudienKonferenz).
Winter Semester 2019/20
Co-organizer of the Institutskolloquium "Anthropologie der Insel", Institut für Europäische Ethnologie, University of Vienna (with Dr. Sarah Nimführ).
Publications
Meloni, Greca N. 2025b. “Queen Rearing in Sardinia. A Visual Ethnography of Beekeeping.” Pratiche Visuali / Visual Practices. Antropologia Pubblica (Milano) 12 (2): 245–67. https://doi.org/10.7413/2531-8799062.
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Meloni, Greca N. 2025a. “Compagni e antagonisti nell’Antropocene. Etnografia del controllo biologico del Glycaspis brimblecombei e dell’apicoltura in Sardegna.” Antropologia 12 (2): 35–52. https://doi.org/10.14672/ada20252pp35-52.
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Meloni, Greca N. 2023. “Writing with Beekeepers on a Blog: A Collaborative Experiment.” In Writing Together. Transcript.
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Meloni, Greca N. 2021. “Una Pianta Che Non Deve Stare Lì. Giustizia Ambientale e Autoctonia Nella Sardegna Meridionale.” Antropologia 8 (2): 65–84. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.14672/ada2021177465-84.
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Meloni, Greca N. 2018b. “Saperi condivisi, saperi in conflitto Etnografia dell’apicoltura in Sardegna.” Antropologia pubblica 4 (2): 65–83.
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Meloni, Greca N. 2018a. “Making Indigeneity: The Beekeeper’s Perspective.” On_Culture: The Open Journal for the Study of Culture, no. 5 (July): 1–22. https://doi.org/%3Curn:nbn:de:hebis:26-opus-136573%3E.
Visual & Creative Outputs
Di seguito i principali outputs visivi che fanno parte della mia personale "cassetta degli attrezzi"
Conferences
19-24.08.2024"Following the roots: an ethnography of the eucalyptus in Europe", WCEH2024, Oulu, Finland.
22-26.07.2024 " Unmaking forests: A case study on Eucalyptus in three European regions", EASA2024, Barcellona, Spain. ​
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26-29.07.2022 “’Small’ agencies in Capitalocene landscapes: A case from South Sardinia”, 17th EASA Biennial Conference, Belfast, Ireland.
16-22.05.2022 “Wild, Domesticated, Native: Humans-Bees Relationship in Cultural Anthropology”, with Ignazio Floris (Uniss), First International meeting APIS SELVATICA, Pantelleria, Italy.
16-22.05.2022 “Le interazioni dell'uomo con le api. Testimonianze e racconti di un’isola del Mediterraneo (Sardegna, Italia)”, Ignazio Floris (Uniss), Greca N. Meloni, First International meeting APIS SELVATICA, Pantelleria, Italy.
22-25.09.2021 “Exploiting Nature to save Nature. A case from South Sardinia”, SIAC Conference “Future: Anthropologies of the Future, the Future of Anthropology”, Rome, Italy.
5.12.2020 “L’antropologia visuale accanto e oltre il film etnografico. L’immagine etnografica in un contesto post-digitale”, Festival ISREAL, Nuoro, Italy.
14.18.09.2020 “Experimental collaboration in beekeeping”, RAI Conference “Anthropology and Geography: Dialogues Past, Present and Future,” London, United Kingdom.
21-24.07.2020 “Making a 'good movie': Critical perspectives on the visual 'habitus' in the field”, EASA2020: New anthropological horizons in and beyond Europe, Lisbon Portugal.
28.11.2019 “A Co-Created Space. Islandness and Beekeeping in Sardinia”, Institutskolloquium des Instituts für Europäische Ethnologie, Universität Wien, Austria.
25-30.09.2019 “A Co-Created Landscape: Environmental Management and Beekeeping in Sardinia (Italy)”, Deutscher Kongresse für Geographie, Kiel, Germany.
14-17.04.2019 “Negotiating the ‘Endless Island’. Landscape and Beekeeping in Sardinia”, SIEF2019: Track Changes: Reflecting on a transforming world, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
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13-15 dicembre 2018, "La consapevolezza inter-specie e il ruolo dell’antropologo nel contesto dell’apicoltura sarda", VI Convegno Nazionale Società Italiana di Antropologia Applicata, Cremona (Italia).
19-22 settembre 2018, "The Human-Bee-Environment relation: the case of the Sardinian beekeepers", Vienna Anthropology Days VANDA, University of Vienna, Wien.
11./12. gennaio 2018, "Making Honey- Making Identity. Policies and Beekeeping In Sardinia", 4. Internationale Doktorand*innentagung des "Interdisziplinären Netzwerks historische und ethnographische Forschung im Austausch", Institut für Europäische Ethnologie, Universität Wien, Wien (Österreich).
14-17 dicembre 2017, "Saperi condivisi, saperi in conflitto: co-managment dell'apicoltura in Sardegna", V Convegno Nazionale SIAA- Società Italiana di Antropologia Applicata, University of Catania (Italy).
23 November 2017, "Beekeeping in Sardinia: Conflicts and policies", Institutskolloquium "Protest und Reformation", Institut für Europäische Ethnologie, Universität Wien.
16 luglio 2017, "Antropologia dell'apicoltura in Sardegna: Tra tutela della biodiversità e valorizzazione dei prodotti locali", Argea Guspini (Italia).
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