Ilse Korotin

Ilse Erika Korotin (born 1957 in Horn, Lower Austria) is an Austrian philosopher and sociologist. She researched and published on the history of ideas of Nazism. At the Institute for Science and Art in Vienna, she heads the Documentation Centre for Women's Studies. Her work focuses on feminist biographical research and history of science.

Life and work Ilse Korotin completed an apprenticeship as a bookseller. After several years of professional activity, she studied philosophy and sociology at the University of Vienna from 1983. In 1990, she received her doctorate in philosophy, and since then she has been working at the Vienna Institute for Science and Art, since 1991 as head of the Documentation Centre for Women's Studies.

The documentation, research and networking project biografiA. biographische datenbank und lexikon österreichischer frauen has been carried out under Korotin's direction since 1998. It is dedicated to the historical-biographical processing of Austrian women's personalities from the time when Austria was first mentioned until the present day with the aim of providing a sound basis for further research in the field of feminist historical research, history of science, as well as women's and gender studies. The results of the work are published in a book series and made available in a database that is constantly updated.

As part of the project, Ilse Korotin, together with Brigitta Keintzel from the University of Vienna, published the lexical reference work Wissenschafterinnen in und aus Österreich. Leben - Werk - Wirken (Women Scientists in and from Austria: Life and Work) in 2002. It comprises the life stories of 342 women scientists from all areas of the cultural and natural sciences from the turn of the century to the post-war period, including several women scientists who were murdered in German concentration camps. The encyclopedia also shows that "until well into the second half of the 20th century, very few women were able to succeed in the institutionalized science business. Habilitations and appointments as professors remained exceptions." The large number of biographies speaks for a broad emancipation movement, the editors write in the foreword, and call for a "fundamental revision of the previous view of Austrian scientific history."

On 20 May 2016 the biographiA. Lexikon österreichischer Frauen edited by Ilse Korotin was presented to the public by President Heinz Fischer in the rooms of the Presidential Chancellery. The four-volume encyclopedia, which was described by Federal President Fischer during the presentation event as an "important and voluminous new publication in terms of subject matter and thoroughness", contains around 6,500 biographies of Austrian women or references to women's biographical traces from Roman times to the present day - including the year of birth 1938 - and is related to a sphere of activity within the geographical borders of present-day Austria. It shows the work of women in politics, society, culture and history, thus entering new biographical territory in many areas and opening up new research perspectives. It is part of the documentation, research and networking project biografiA. biographische datenbank und lexikon österreichischer frauen at the Institute for Science and Art.

Awards In 2017, Korotin was awarded the Prize of the City of Vienna for popular education.