Dr. Sebastian Sevignani

Sebastian is a sociologist and media and communication scientist working in the field of general and theoretical sociology at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena; he studied at the University of Salzburg and received his PhD on a thesis about the contradictions of privacy in digital capitalism. As part of his habilitation project, he is conducting integrative research on labor and communication within digital capitalism. Research stays and fellowships have led him to Uppsala, Roskilde, and London to the Westminster Institute for Advanced Studies, among others. He has held several interims in media management and media economics as well as media systems and media organization at the University of Paderborn. His research focuses on theories of capitalism and activity, digitalization processes, intellectual property, the structural transformation of the public sphere and privacy, political economy of media & communication, and a critical theory of human needs.

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Activities

Publications

  • Kempf, Victor, Martin Seeliger, and Sebastian Sevignani (2026): „The Public Sphere in Critical Theory“, In: D. Kellner and R. Winter (eds.): Research Handbook on Critical Theory, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, (forth.).

  • Graefe, Stefanie, Mike Laufenberg, Susanne Lettow, Sebastian Sevignani, and Marco Sonnberger (2026): „Nach dem (Privat-)Eigentum? Alternative Formen des Eigentums und Alternativen zum Eigentum im Kapitalismus“, Working Paper Sonderforschungsbereich/Transregio 294 »Strukturwandel des Eigentums«, (forth.).

  • Reitz, Tilman, Marlen van den Ecker, and Sebastian Sevignani (2026): „The Common Production of Economic Advantages. Towards an Activity Theory of Rent in Informational Capitalism“, In: Critical Sociology, (forth.).

  • Sevignani, Sebastian (2025): „Activity Theory in the Digital Age: Can Communication and Data Be Expropriated, Exploited, or Alienated?“, in: P. Bilić and T. Allmer (eds.): Rethinking Media and Communication: A Critical Sociological Lens, Leiden: Brill: 204–228.

  • Sevignani, Sebastian, and Hendrik Theine (eds.) (2025): „Special Section: Unpacking Property: Media, Ownership, and Power in Transformation“, In: International Journal of Communication 19: 797–929.

  • Sevignani, Sebastian, and Hendrik Theine (2025): „Media Property: New Explorations in Media and Communication Studies“, In: International Journal of Communication 19: 797–803.

  • Sevignani, Sebastian, Hendrik Theine und Mandy Tröger (2025): „Toward Media Environment Capture: A Theoretical Contribution on the Influence of Big Tech on News Media“, In: International Journal of Communication 19: 804–824. 

  • Heiland, Heiner, Martin Seeliger, and Sebastian Sevignani (2024): „Editorial: Die Öffentlichkeit der Arbeit. Zu den Organisationsbedingungen arbeitspolitischer Prozesse“, In: Industrielle Beziehungen 31: 5–22, DOI:10.5771/0943-2779-2024-3-4-5.

  • Theine, Hendrik, and Sebastian Sevignani (2024): „Special Issue: Media transformation and the challenge of property", In: European Journal of Communication 39(5): 407-525.

  • Theine, Hendrik, and Sebastian Sevignani (2024): „Media Property: Mapping the Field and Future Trajectories in the Digital Age“, In: European Journal of Communication 39(5): 412–425, DOI:10.1177/02673231241268159.

  • Theine, Hendrik, and Sebastian Sevignani (2024): „Introduction to the Special Issue: Media Transformation and the Challenge of Property“, In: European Journal of Communication 39(5): 407–411, DOI:10.1177/02673231241274347.

  • Fraser, Nancy, Sebastian Sevignani, Victor Kempf, and Martin Seeliger (2024): „Kapitalismus und umkämpfte Öffentlichkeit. Ein Gespräch mit Nancy Fraser“, In: Berliner Journal für Soziologie 34: 145–163, DOI:10.1007/s11609-024-00519-2.

  • Sevignani, Sebastian (2024): „Communicative Activity: Social Theoretical Foundations for Critical Materialist Media and Communication Sociology in the Digital Age“, In: Critical Sociology 50(4–5): 707–725, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1177/08969205241230246.

  • Sevignani, Sebastian (2024): „Critical Political Economy“, In: J. Krone and T. Pellegrini (eds.): Handbook of Media and Communication Economics: A European Perspective, Wiesbaden: Springer: 63–100.

  • Carstensen, Tanja, Simon Schaupp, and Sebastian Sevignani (eds.) (2023): Theorien des digitalen Kapitalismus: Arbeit und Ökonomie, Politik und Subjekt, Berlin: Suhrkamp.

  • Sevignani, Sebastian, Simon Schaupp, and Tanja Carstensen (2023): „Einleitung: Basiskategorien und zukünftige Herausforderungen für eine Theorie des digitalen Kapitalismus“, In: T. Carstensen, S. Schaupp, and S. Sevignani (eds.): Theorien des digitalen Kapitalismus: Arbeit und Ökonomie, Politik und Subjekt, Berlin: Suhrkamp: 9–41.

  • Reitz, Tilman, Sebastian Sevignani, and Marlen van den Ecker (2023): „Eigentum im digitalen Kapitalismus. Ökonomie, Recht und Praxis“, In: T. Carstensen, S. Schaupp, and S. Sevignani (eds.): Theorien des Digitalen Kapitalismus, Berlin: Suhrkamp: 264–284.

  • Heiland, Heiner, Martin Seeliger, and Sebastian Sevignani (2023): „The Proletarian Public Sphere Revisited: Conceptual Propositions on the Structural Transformation of Publics in Labour Policy“, In: Philosophy & Social Criticism 50(1): 80–101, DOI:10.1177/01914537231206463.

  • Brunkhorst, Hauke, Martin Seeliger, and Sebastian Sevignani (eds.) (2023): „Special Issue: Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere“, In: Philosophy & Social Criticism 50(1):3–277.

  • Brunkhorst, Hauke, Martin Seeliger, and Sebastian Sevignani (2023): „The Public Sphere and Democracy in Transformation: Continuing the Debate – An Introduction“, In: Philosophy & Social Criticism 50(1): 3–9, DOI:10.1177/01914537231214451.

  • Heiland, Heiner, Martin Seeliger, and Sebastian Sevignani (2023): „The Proletarian Public Sphere Revisited: Conceptual Propositions on the Structural Transformation of Publics in Labour Policy“, In: Philosophy & Social Criticism 50(1): 80-101, DOI:10.1177/01914537231206463.

  • Kempf, Victor, Sebastian Sevignani, and Nancy Fraser (2023): „Capitalism and Contested Publicity. A Conversation with Nancy Fraser“, In: Philosophy & Social Criticism 50(1): 66-79, DOI:10.1177/01914537231203555.

  • van den Ecker, Marlen, Tilman Reitz, and Sebastian Sevignani (2023): „Between Openness and Exclusion Property and Profitability in the Information Economy“, Working Paper Sonderforschungsbereich/Transregio 294 »Strukturwandel des Eigentums« 2. 

  • Seeliger, Martin, and Sebastian Sevignani (eds.) (2022): „Special Issue: A New Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere?“, In: Theory, Culture & Society 39(4): 3–171.

  • Seeliger, Martin, and Sebastian Sevignani (2022): „A New Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere? An Introduction“, In: Theory, Culture & Society 39(4): 3–16, DOI:10.1177/02632764221109439.

  • Sevignani, Sebastian (2022): „Digital Transformations and the Ideological Formation of the Public Sphere: Hegemonic, Populist, or Popular Communication?“, In: Theory, Culture & Society 39(4): 91–109, DOI:10.1177/02632764221103516.

  • Theine, Hendrik, Mandy Tröger, und Sebastian Sevignani (2022): „Wer beherrscht die Medien? Zur Einfassung des Journalismus durch Technologiekonzerne“, In: Otto Brenner Stiftung (ed.): Welche Öffentlichkeit brauchen wir? Zur Zukunft des Journalismus und demokratischer Medien, Frankfurt am Main: Otto-Brenner-Stiftung: 41–64.

  • Sevignani, Sebastian (2022): „Digital Labour and Prosumption under Capitalism“, In: F. Butollo and S. Nuss (eds.): Marx and the Robots: Networked Production, AI, and Human Labour, London: Pluto: 228-241.

Lectures

  • Sevignani, Sebastian. Introductory Talk: Property and Media - Theoretical Considerations and Possible Future Trajectories. Talk at the European Journal of Communication Symposium on media property. Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. September 29, 2023. (together with Hendrik Theine):
  • Sevignani, Sebastian. Thinking beyond traditional political economic paradigms: Making a case for media environment capture. Talk at the IAMCR 2023, Panel “Funding Public Interest Journalism through Tech Giants’ resources: comparing debates and solutions around the world”. Sciences Po Lyon, France. July 12, 2023. (together with Hednrik Theine and Mandy Tröger).
  • Sevignani, Sebastian. Zur politischen Ökonomie von Twitter [On the Political Economy of Twitter]. Talk at the project course “e-history: Historiker:innen auf twitter”, Department of History. Bielefeld University, Germany. April 24, 2023.
  • Sevignani, Sebastian. Algorithmen und Eigentum: Zur Entfremdung digitaler Tätigkeiten im Informationsraum [Algorithms and Property: On the Alienation of Digital Activities in Information Space]. Talk at Lecture Series of Institute of Media Studies, Paderborn University, Germany. November 8, 2022.
  • Sevignani, Sebastian and Simon Schaupp. Dem Digitalen Kapitalismus auf der Spur: Einleitung ins Panel. [Tracking Digital Capitalism: Introduction to the panel]. Talk at the 41th Congress of the German Sociological Association (DGS), Bielefeld University, Germany. September 29, 2022.
  • Sevignani, Sebastian and Marlen van den Ecker.  Geistiges Eigentum und funktionale Äquivalente im Digitalen Kapitalismus. [Intellectual property and functional equivalents in Digital Capitalism]. Talk at the 41th Congress of the German Sociological Association (DGS), Bielefeld University, Germany. September 28, 2022.
  • Sevignani, Sebastian. Warum der Plattformkapitalismus kein Dateneigentum braucht … und wenn es eines gäbe, sich auch nichts ändern würde [Why platform capitalism doesn’t need property in data ... and if there was such propetty nothing would change]. Interdisciplinary conference “Data Society”, panel on ethical questions of digitalisation „Who owns our data?”, Paderborn University, Germany. September 22, 2022.
  • Sevignani, Sebastian. Digitaler Kapitalismus. Einführung in exemplarische Zeitdiagnosen. [Digital Capitalism: Introduction to exemplary dignaoses of the times] Keynote talk at the conference  “Bildung und digitaler Kapitalismus”, Akademie für Kulturelle Bildung, Remscheid, Germany. June 20, 2022.
  • Sevignani, Sebastian. Ökonomische und kulturelle funktionale Äquivalente zum Dateneigentum [Economic and Cultural Functional Equivalents to Data Property]. Talk at the conference of Netzwerk Kritische Kommunikationswissenschaft, Department of Economics, WU Vienna, Austria, May 14, 2021.

Events

  • Sevignani, Sebastian (together with Hendrik Theine). Organisation and host of European Journal of Communication (EJC) Symposium on media property. Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. September 29, 2023.
  • Co-Organisation of Ad-Hoc-Group “Polarisierungsdynamiken im digitalen Kapitalismus: Auf dem Weg von unterschiedlichen Zeitdiagnosen zu einer theoretischen Synthese?” at the 41th Congress of the German Sociological Association (DGS), Bielefeld University, Germany. September 29, 2022.
  • Co-Organisation of the workshop “The Materiality of Immaterial Goods”, SFB 294, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany, June 23-24, 2022 [invited discussants: Alexander Peukert, Cicilia Ricap, Parminder Seeth Singh, Melanie Dulong de Rosnay, Stefano Zacchiroli, Susanne Draheim/Kai von Luck, Stefano Zacchiroli, Philipp Staab, Barbara Brandl, Tobias Kämpf]
  • Co-Organisation of the conference of the Netzwerk Kritische Kommunikationswissenschaft “Eigentum, Medien, Öffentlichkeit”. WU Wien, Austria, May 12-14, 2022.

Subprojects

JRT06 (Media) Ownership in the digital structural transformation of the public sphere

Principal Investigator