Comparative cultural sociology and political sociology of Europe
Seminar for Social Sciences
At the professorship, we research how people live together in societies between European opening and new border demarcations. We examine how European integration shapes life situations, social inequalities and political participation and how belonging is experienced biographically and negotiated in encounters between citizens and the state. We also look at how meaning is created and contested in public debates and how ideas and cultural assets circulate across national borders. Our research is characterized by methodological diversity and includes qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods approaches.
Research profile
At the Chair of Comparative Cultural Sociology and Political Sociology of Europe, we are interested in the question of what coexistence looks like in societies that are characterized by openings towards Europe and the world on the one hand, but are subject to new processes of closure on the other. We are dedicated to social change in various areas of society with a special focus on Europe and the European Union.
One focus is on researching the effects of the European integration process on living conditions, social inequalities and social divisions within and between countries. The focus here is on questions of the democratic public sphere and populism as well as forms of political participation, protest and the representation of Interests within a transnational legal and administrative framework. Central to this is also how meanings are created, stabilized and contested in public debates and political discourses.
A further focus is on analyzing the dynamic negotiation of belonging and connectedness. In this context, we focus on the social conditionality of biographies and examine processes of identity formation as well as inclusion and exclusion. We explore this using the phenomenon of binational origin, among other things.
In addition, we deal with the emergence and transformation of cross-border, transnational fields of cultural production in Europe. At the center of our interest are the associated processes of cultural opening and border demarcation between European and non-European societies. To this end, we examine, for example, the infrastructures, mediation practices and cooperation networks within the European book market.
Main research areas
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European integration and inequality
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Culture and knowledge production
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State and administration
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Public sphere and political participation
