The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science is thrilled to welcome Elna Schütz as Journalist in Residence from September to October 2023.

Elna Schütz is a South African freelance journalist who works locally and internationally in writing and audio, for the likes of the Economist and the BBC. She focuses on a wide range of topics from business to science and health, with a particular interest in how personal stories reflect wider circumstances. In 2018 she won the Discovery Health Journalism Award for Best Radio Journalism; her work has also been nominated for Liberty Radio Awards several times. She was honored by her alma mater with a JMS50 Alumni Award from the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University.  

During her residency, she will work on her project titled The Origins of "Normal." Elna’s research will explore how the concept of normality came about and is used, either purposefully or unconsciously, in healthcare and health research. She will also work with the MPIWG communications team on developing new formats bringing the humanities and social sciences to a broader public. Additionally, she will support researchers at the Institute by delivering a workshop on media engagement.

The Institute is pleased to be able to facilitate international journalistic cooperation through its Journalist-in-Residence program. The initiative seeks to support journalists writing about the history of science, develop new formats for the discipline, and open up dialogue between the media and researchers in the field.

Image Credit: Photo,Yellow Paint Photography, 2023.