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Professor Anja Bechmann appointed new member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters

The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters recently appointed ten new members of the Class of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Professor Anja Bechmann from Aarhus University has been appointed to one of these prestigious posts.

Photo: Lise Balsby

Calling the post prestigious is no exaggeration. The Royal Academy counts Niels Bohr, H.C. Ørsted, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin among its previous members. In 2023, Professor Anja Bechmann is one of the ten researchers appointed to promote the position of sciences in Denmark and strengthen interdisciplinary understanding.

Anja Bechmann is a professor at the Department of Media and Journalism Studies at the School of Communication and Culture in Aarhus. Her research takes place at the interdisciplinary intersection of media studies, sociology and data science.

“My research contributes to the understanding of how people and populations of the 21st century, across countries and through the interaction with technology, navigate and socialise in the digitally integrated everyday life. Knowledge of the interaction between our online behaviour, the data it generates, and the way in which these data can be exploited, is a cornerstone of the understanding of new cultural configurations and structural challenges in a data-, AI- and algorithm-driven society.”

The interdisciplinary perspective is one of the many things she looks forward to as a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.

“I look forward to learning about exciting and inspiring research from outside my own field and to have the opportunity to discuss theories and methods with researchers from other academic fields. In my own field, we often utilise interdisciplinary methods. I’m grateful to the Royal Academy for providing me with a platform where I can learn about new methods in other academic disciplines and have fruitful discussions about assumptions, applications, utterances and perspectives.” 

The interdisciplinary aim of the Royal Academy is reflected in the composition of the group, which includes researchers in architecture, linguistics, media and economics. The members will join the academy in May.

Read more about Anja Bechmann's research on the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters website.


Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters

The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters was founded on 13 November 1742. Its aim is to promote the position of sciences in Denmark and strengthen interdisciplinary understanding. It acts as a liaison body and a meeting place for prominent researchers from all fields of basic scientific research from all over Denmark.

Each year, the academy elects new members for one of its two classes, the Class of the Natural Sciences and the Class of the Humanities and Social Sciences. In May, the Class of the Humanities and Social Sciences will welcome ten new members, including Anja Bechmann, professor at Aarhus University.


Contact information

Anja Bechmann
Professor, Media Studies
Email: anjabechmann@cc.au.dk
Phone: +45 51 33 51 38