Utta Isop

Utta Isop (born 1974 in Klagenfurt) is an Austrian philosopher and gender researcher, author and editor. Her main focuses are gender democracy, unconditional basic income, solidarity economy, and social movements.
Biography.
Utta Isop studied law from 1992 to 1994, and from 1992 to 2002 a double degree in teaching (philosophy, psychology, pedagogics, and German) and philosophy as a combination of subjects at the University of Vienna. In May 2002 she received her diploma in philosophy with a thesis entitled ""Sociogenesis of the Social. Reflections based on Bourdieu, Groeben, Mead, Vygotsky"." In July 2004, she passed the teacher's examination with the following topics: social sciences as a school subject, Otto Neurath's picture pedagogy, and multilingualism as a national educational concept. In 2005, she was on parental leave. Since 2006 she has been working as a teacher at the Bundesrealgymnasium Klagenfurt-Viktring.
From 2005 to 2016, she taught philosophy and gender studies as a staff member of the University of Klagenfurt. She was part of the inter-faculty research network "Culture & Conflict", which has existed at the University of Klagenfurt since 2005. The first publication documenting the results of the research project is "Spielregeln der Gewalt. Kulturwissenschaftliche Beiträge zur Friedens- und Geschlechterforschung", (2009, edited by Utta Isop, Viktorija Ratković and Werner Wintersteiner).
In 2013, she was awarded the Prize for Civic Courage by the Austrian Students' Association in Klagenfurt in the category of teachers, because, according to the jury, she "constantly rises above convention and expresses criticism of unfair conditions."
Reception.
Together with the media and communication scientist Viktorija Ratković, Utta Isop published the volume "Differenzen leben" in 2011. The review in the journal Femina Politica concluded: "The strengths of the book lie in its diverse examination of different aspects of inclusion and exclusion in relation to the category of gender in connection with - primarily - the categories of ethnicity and sexuality."
Utta Isop wrote the introduction to the book "Gewalt im beruflichen Alltag" (Everyday Violence on the Job), published in 2017, and a preface to each chapter. According to the review of the book by Gerd Krüger, Professor at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, in her introduction she critically examines the prevailing understanding of democracy and notes that in contemporary political discussion the everyday experience of democracy in the family, at work and in leisure time is hardly reflected upon. She doubts that the common practice of voting makes "societies capable of democracy in the long run". Her criticism of hierarchy and the demand for a new understanding of democracy are central.
Memberships.
She is a member of, among others, the associations "Unabhängiger Interessensverband für Geschlechterdemokratie" (Klagenfurt) and "Solidarische Ökonomie" (Vienna) as well as the Austrian Society for Gender Studies, the Society for Women in Philosophy and the "Initiative 2010 "Linke Organisierung"". In 2010 she was chairwoman of the association "Freundinnen der Frauenfrühlingsuniversität" (Carinthia). She is also involved in the feminist movement: she is a member of the Association of Feminist Scientists. For the Alliance for One World, she is a substitute member of the Development Policy Advisory Board of the State of Carinthia.
Publications (selection).
Editors and contributions as author