Institute for Sociology and Economics

Welcome to the Institute for Sociology and Economics

The Institute for Sociology and Economics includes five professorships: Sociology and Sociological Theory, Sociology of Globalization, Socio-Economics, Development Economics and Policy, and Flight, Migration and Social Mobility.

The professorship for Sociology and Sociological Theory conducts research and teaches in the fields of sociological theory and social change. We offer courses on classical and contemporary sociological theory as well as on topics from sociological subfields such as cultural sociology, political sociology and sociology of religion. We see sociology as a multiparadigmatic discipline.

The Sociology of Globalisation professorship is concerned with the ways in which “the globe” as a constantly changing entity is being known and governed. Teaching and supervision associated with the professorship is focused on the following four areas: qualitative research methods, political sociology, science and technology studies (STS), and theories of the Anthropocene.

Research in Socio-Economics deals with economically relevant questions at the intersection with other social sciences such as psychology, political science or sociology. A research focus lies on behavioural economics and subjective well-being research in the areas of green behaviour and identity, civic engagement, as well as forms of self-employment and identity and their implications for human well-being.

Issues of sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development are at the core of the professorship for Development Economics and Policy. A particular focus is on the interactions of human security and sustainable human development. Regionally, the focus is on Southeast Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

The professorship of Flight, Migration and Social Mobility is dedicated to the social and cultural study of migration and mobility. Teaching associated with the professorship focuses on the methods and theories of social and cultural anthropology in general and migration studies in particular. Research projects by team members are concerned with the social and cultural conditions and effects of flight, migration and social mobility from a reflexive and comparative perspective.

Our Profile in Teaching and Research

Theprofessorship for Sociology and Sociological Theoryoffers courses and is doing research covering a broad variety of sociological theories and approaches and their connection to empirical fields and puzzles.

Research projects at the professorship for Sociology of Globalisation are concerned with the effects of globalisation as a meta-discourse. In one way or another, they interrogate what could be called the “aftermaths of globalisation”, that is, the social and political practices that emerge amid the ruins of neoliberalism.

A main focus of research at theprofessorship for Socio-Economicslooks at human decision-making under conditions of scarcity and their implications for human well-being, both in traditional economic contexts as well as beyond. Both in teaching and research, the empirical analysis of these research questions via survey data or experimental approaches is center-stage.

In general, the thematic research at theprofessorship for Development Economics and Policyis conducted in the context of the United Nations' "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". A special research focus is on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 "Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions", as sustainable development appears impossible without peace and stability. The scientific approach is problem-oriented and therefore transdisciplinary.

Research at the Flight, Migration and Social Mobility professorship is dedicated to the study of forced displacement and migration processes and is concerned with the production of knowledge about migration and social mobility. Special attention is paid to the historical and cultural studies of such forms of mobility in West and North Africa.