Postdoctoral Qualification Process of Dr. Matthias Potthoff Successfully Completed
(April 27, 2024) Former student and doctoral candidate at the Department of Communication, Dr. Matthias Potthoff, was granted the venia legendi for the field of communication science by the Faculty Council 06 at the University of Münster on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. This marks the successful completion of his postdoctoral qualification process initiated in October 2023, which included a cumulative dissertation and a postdoctoral lecture with a colloquium.
Dr. Matthias Potthoff, who obtained his Master's degree at the Department of Communication in 2007 and completed his PhD in 2012, is currently working at a consulting firm in Copenhagen after academic positions at the universities of Hamburg and Mannheim. The Faculty Council for Educational Science and Social Sciences at the University of Münster evaluated his written postdoctoral thesis and the oral specialist lecture followed by a colloquium as excellent, fully meeting the requirements for a postdoctoral qualification. In his thesis titled "Studies and Approaches on the Compatibility, Integration, and Recognition of Communication Science Insights," Matthias Potthoff examines why many empirical studies and theoretical approaches are fragmented and seemingly incompatible. Moreover, many research findings are barely noticed, which hampers the knowledge utilization in the field. In the various essays that are part of the cumulative dissertation, Potthoff explores the reasons for this deficient state using the innovative bibliometric method, which analyzes citations and the reception of research publications through network analysis. However, he does not stop at describing the status quo but also makes suggestions for improving the discipline's development. These range from theoretical integration efforts to joint operationalizations of theoretical constructs in key subject areas of the field.
The thesis, along with the teaching qualification, was recommended for acceptance by the postdoctoral commission led by Armin Scholl and confirmed by the Faculty Council. The public postdoctoral lecture focused on the topic "Attribution as a Previously Neglected Fundamental Phenomenon of Numerous Communication Science Phenomena – Opportunities for Integration." In it, Matthias Potthoff grouped various communication science approaches under the umbrella of attribution research, demonstrating how they can be theoretically and empirically integrated.
In his dissertation, Matthias Potthoff already demonstrated how a disparate research status can be systematized and organized in the communication science framing approach. The publication is pioneering for this research branch, as is the volume he edited on the key works of media effects research. Like a common thread, his research and publications address the question of how the field of communication studies can be consolidated in various research areas. The venia legendi in communication studies awarded by the Faculty Council particularly complements Potthoff's research and teaching program.
Contact person public relations:
Dr. Stephan Völlmicke
Telefon: +49 251 83-23006
Telefax: +49 251 83-21310 (Geschäftszimmer IfK)