Soziologie

Willkommen im Team: Liam Dailey verstärkt den Arbeitsbereich Mediensoziologie

Soziologie — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:21:51 +0200

Der Arbeitsbereich Mediensoziologie freut sich, Liam Dailey als neues Mitglied im Team begrüßen zu dürfen.Er unterstützt den Arbeitsbereich bei der Vorbereitung von Lehrveranstaltungen sowie bei organisatorischen Aufgaben. Liam Dailey studiert derzeit Soziologie im Bachelor. Seine Forschungsinteressen liegen in der Kultur- und Körpersoziologie. In seiner Bachelorarbeit beschäftigt er sich aktuell mit Tätowierungen und Mode.

The working unit of Media Sociology is pleased to welcome Liam Dailey as a new member of the team. He supports the working unit in the preparation of courses as well as with organisational tasks. Liam is currently studying Sociology at Bachelor's level. His research interests include cultural sociology and the sociology of the body. In his Bachelor's thesis, he is currently focusing on tattoos and fashion.

Who feels stigmatized for being unemployed – and where?

Soziologie — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:03:25 +0200

In a new article in the international journal Work, Employment and Society, Kerstin Ostermann (Bielefeld University & Institute for Employment Research) and Sebastian Lang (LIfBi Bamberg) ask why some unemployed people feel judged for their unemployment while others do not. Combining survey data from the German Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security (PASS) with administrative 1×1 km grid-cell data for all of Germany, the article shows that the composition of the immediate residential context shapes how a local employment norm correlates with individuals' feelings of stigmatization. The association is U-shaped: up to a local unemployment share of about 10 percent, having more unemployed neighbors lowers individuals' stigma consciousness, whereas above a share of 30 percent it raises it again. Stigma consciousness is highest among unemployed residents of economically unequal neighborhoods and of high-unemployment neighborhoods embedded in otherwise low-unemployment counties – that is, wherever a visibly norm-deviant group and a sufficient number of potential norm enforcers coexist. Beyond the German case, the findings show that employment norms are set and enforced on different spatial levels.

The (English-language) article is available here.

25 Jahre 9/11: Interviews mit Daniela Schiek

Soziologie — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:18:38 +0200

Der 11. September 2001: Ein historischer Einschnitt und seine bleibenden Spuren

Die Terroranschläge vom 11. September 2001 veränderten die Welt in einem Ausmaß, das bis heute spürbar ist. An diesem schicksalhaften Tag verloren fast 3.000 Menschen ihr Leben, und die Türme des World Trade Centers, ein Symbol der freien westlichen Welt, stürzten ein. Der 11. September markiert einen historischen Einschnitt für eine ganze Generation, die die Ereignisse live im Fernsehen verfolgt hat.

Während die Bilder der einstürzenden Türme zu einem Wendepunkt wurden, wächst heute eine neue Generation heran, die diesen Tag nicht selbst erlebt hat. Sie kennen den 11. September nur aus Erzählungen, Bildern und Dokumentationen. Für viele junge Menschen ist 9/11 mittlerweile oft nur noch ein historisches Datum, dessen Bedeutung mit der Zeit verblasst.

In einem Gespräch mit Daniela Schiek wird deutlich, dass der 11. September 2001 nicht nur ein traumatisches Ereignis war, sondern auch eine prägende Erfahrung für die damaligen jungen Erwachsenen. Doch wann wird aus einer gemeinschaftlichen Erinnerung eigentlich Geschichte? Diese Frage bleibt in Zeiten des Wandels von großer Bedeutung, während wir uns den bleibenden Spuren der Ereignisse von 2001 widmen.

Interview mit Daniela Schiek in Sendung „Das Thema“ bei hr-INFO und in der Sendung „Kultur am Morgen“ bei SWR Kultur.

The Anthropology of Risk in a Financialised World – FinancialLives' Workshop at Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin

Soziologie — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 16:30:51 +0200

On 16 October 2026, the workshop The Anthropology of Risk in a Financialised World: Finance, Labour and Householding is going to take place at the Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin). This activity is part of the FinancialLives project (ERC Consolidator Grant Nr. 101169874). For more details, please refer to the workshop program here.

Besides the introductory presentations about the FinancialLives project and a panel discussion (participation by invitation only), the workshop also features a hybrid symposium, titled Understanding Risk in Time, Social Reproduction, and Market: The Commodification and Universalisation of a Social Construct, which is open to the public. Further information about the symposium will be announced in the following weeks.

New Open-Access Book Published by UCL Press: 'Migrant Labour in Global Factories' by Jake Lin, Minh T. N. Nguyen and Jingyu Mao

Soziologie — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:29:33 +0200

We are pleased to announce that the new open-access book titled 'Migrant labour in global factories: Care, welfare and government under market socialism in China and Vietnam' by Jake Lin, Minh T. N. Nguyen and Jingyu Mao has been published by UCL Press. The joint monograph is an output of WelfareStruggles, a research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant Nr. 803614).

More information about the book and free PDF download can be found on UCL Press' website.

About the book:

The labour of hundreds of millions of internal migrant workers plays a crucial role for China and Vietnam’s national development and the expansion of global production chains in these market socialist countries. As the Communist party states have been promoting both marketization and welfare expansion since their respective reforms began, the contradictions between the commodification and the social protection of labour that coexist in these polities lead to significant obstacles to the migrant workers’ welfare and wellbeing in the post-reform era.

Bringing into focus the connection between the reconfiguration of labour and changes in the two countries’ welfare systems, Migrant Labour in Global Factories analyses how these contradictions shape the care of their huge migrant labour forces. It explores how they unfold in the historical and political contexts of both countries, bringing a range of relevant theories about welfare and social policymaking to bear on the features of the market socialist economy. The book argues that the evolving welfare systems in China and Vietnam fail to address meaningfully the social consequences of labour commodification in contexts where neoliberal development is instrumentalized to serve the political control and legitimacy of the party states. This is often at the cost of long-term and sustainable social policies for migrant labour in global factories.

Reference:

Lin, J., Nguyen, T. N. M., & Mao, J. (2026). Migrant labour in global factories: Care, welfare and government under market socialism in China and Vietnam. UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787356948

Digi-Gap: Neues Verbundprojekt gestartet

Soziologie — Tue, 8 Sep 2026 13:05:07 +0200

Im Juli startete das neue Projekt „Der Gender- und Generationen-Gap in Berufen mit digitalisierten (KI-)Tätigkeiten: Erhöhte Arbeitszeitanforderungen und (ungenutztes) Vereinbarkeitspotenzial von digitalen (KI) Technologien? (Digi-Gap)“ (Laufzeit: 2026–2028). Digi-Gap ist ein gemeinsames Forschungsprojekt des Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Instituts (WSI) der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung und der Universität Bielefeld, welches durch das BMAS im Zuge des Difis Sonderforschungszentrums (DIFIS-SOFO) als Lead-Projekt gefördert wird.

Das Projekt untersucht die Implikationen digitaler (KI-)Technologien an der Schnittstelle von Berufs- und Privatleben. Die wachsende Rolle digitaler Technologien und die Verbreitung von KI in der Arbeitswelt führen zu einem rasanten Wandel der Anforderungen an Beschäftigte. Gleichzeitig wirken sich diese Technologien zunehmend auf das Privatleben der Mitarbeitenden aus und verändern es auf vielfältige Weise. Angesichts dieser Entwicklungen wird es immer dringlicher, die Dynamiken und ihre Bedeutung für die Vereinbarkeit von Arbeits- und Privatleben zu analysieren und im Hinblick neuer Potentiale und Risiken zu verstehen.

Durch drei komplementäre Teilprojekte werden wir folgende Aspekte untersuchen:

Die geschlechtsspezifischen Aspekte der Vereinbarkeit von Berufs- und Privatleben sowie die Risiken und Potenziale, die sich aus digitalen (KI-) Technologien ergeben.
Die Auswirkungen digitaler Arbeitsanforderungen auf familiäre und pflegerische Verantwortung.
Die Schnittstelle von Geschlecht und Alter, wobei wir untersuchen, wie digitale (KI-) Technologien die Fähigkeit älterer Beschäftigter beeinflussen, im Erwerbsleben zu bleiben.

Wir freuen uns darauf, unsere Erkenntnisse und Ergebnisse im Verlauf des Projekts hier zu teilen

Call for Papers: 21. Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Justice Research (ISJR 2027) an der Universität Bielefeld

Soziologie — Tue, 8 Sep 2026 12:43:15 +0200

Die 21. Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Justice Research (ISJR 2027) findet vom 20. bis 22. Juli 2027 an Fakultät für Soziologie der Universität Bielefeld statt.

Unter dem Titel „Inequalities and Injustices in Transforming Societies“ bringt die Konferenz Forschende aus unterschiedlichen Disziplinen und auf allen Karrierestufen zusammen. Eingeladen sind insbesondere Beiträge aus Soziologie, Psychologie, Sozialpsychologie, Politikwissenschaft, Erziehungswissenschaft und Philosophie sowie verwandten Forschungsfeldern.

Im Mittelpunkt stehen Fragen danach, wie politische, wirtschaftliche und technologische Veränderungen soziale Ungleichheiten, Gerechtigkeitsvorstellungen und gesellschaftliche Teilhabe prägen. Themen können beispielsweise Digitalisierung und Künstliche Intelligenz, Klimakrisen, Migration, Arbeitsmarktveränderungen, politische Polarisierung oder institutionelle Prozesse der Anerkennung und Ausgrenzung umfassen.

Eingereicht werden können Abstracts für:

Einzelvorträge,
Posterpräsentationen sowie
Symposien mit drei bis vier thematisch verbundenen Beiträgen und einer Diskutantin bzw. einem Diskutanten.

Abstracts können bis zum 15. November 2026 über das Submission-Portal eingereicht werden.

Der vollständige Call for Papers enthält weitere Informationen zu Themen, Einreichungsformaten und formalen Anforderungen.

Als Keynote Speakers werden Caroline Fredrickson vom International Labour Organization (ILO) Research Department sowie Prof. Dr. Fabian Pfeffer von der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München erwartet.

Pre-conference PhD Workshop

Für den 19. Juli 2027 ist zudem ein Pre-conference Workshop für Promovierende geplant. Der Workshop wird von den erfahrenen ISJR-Forschenden Clara Sabbagh und Manfred Schmitt betreut. Vier Promovierende erhalten die Gelegenheit, ihre Dissertationsprojekte vorzustellen und mit den Mentor:innen sowie weiteren Teilnehmenden zu diskutieren.

Bewerbungen für den PhD Workshop sind bis zum 1. März 2027 möglich.

Weitere Informationen zur Konferenz und zum PhD Workshop finden Sie auf der Konferenzwebsite.

Prof. Dr. Carsten Sauer · Dr. Jule Adriaans · Dr. Laura Lükemann · Dr. Sebastian Sattler

Elena Esposito erhält den Balzan-Preis 2026

Soziologie — Tue, 8 Sep 2026 09:52:10 +0200

Elena Esposito, Professorin an der Fakultät für Soziologie der Universität Bielefeld und an der Universität Bologna erhält den Balzan-Preis 2026 im Themenfeld 'Sozialwissenschaft der digitalen Technologie'. Elena Esposito wurde von der Universität Bielefeld und der Fakultät für Soziologie vorgeschlagen. Sie erhält damit einen international sehr angesehenen Wissenschaftspreis.

Weiterführende Links

ZfS: Aushandlungsprozesse um technologisches und symbolisches Kapital - Artikel ahead of print erschienen

Soziologie — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:50:54 +0200

Die Zeitschrift für Soziologie hat einen neuen Artikel im Ahead-of-Print-Format für die Ausgabe 2026 (3) veröffentlicht:

„Aushandlungsprozesse um technologisches und symbolisches Kapital: Eine bourdieusche Perspektive auf die Datafizierung der Musikwirtschaft“ von Jonathan Kropf.

Der Beitrag interpretiert die Datafizierung der Musikwirtschaft aus einer bourdieuschen Perspektive. Zunächst werden zwei akademische Diskurse rekonstruiert, ihre Leerstellen diskutiert und in Beziehung zueinander gesetzt. Dabei geht es um die Anwendung von Bourdieus Theorie auf die Digitalisierung und um Arbeiten zur Datafizierung der Musikwirtschaft. Während der zweite Diskurs von Bourdieus Ansatz profitiert, zeigt der Fall der datafizierten Musikwirtschaft auch dessen Grenzen. Der empirische Teil konzentriert sich auf die Aushandlungsprozesse um technologisches und symbolisches Kapital in der aktuellen Musikwirtschaft.

Wie gewohnt ist der Artikel im Open Access verfügbar.

New book: Worldviews of Ice

Soziologie — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 11:08:26 +0200

„Worldviews of Ice“ (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-25945-5) takes its readers on a journey beyond the boundaries between Arctic science and politics. From the research funding landscapes in Canada, Germany and Norway („Preparing Science) and the basic research carried out by glaciologists and permafrost experts („Doing Science“) to the multiple knowledge translations at the Arctic Council („Bringing Science to Politics“) the authors inquire into the circle of Arctic knowledge production. In the end, the Arctic emerges as the result of manifold narratives and worldviews driven by deep uncertainties. The book is the result of a three-year research project led by Mathias Albert and Holger Straßheim, carried out together with Svenja Holste, Daniela Portella Sampaio as well as Mikko von Bremen and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

RTG 2951: Second MoCaF Fact Sheet Published

Soziologie — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:51:46 +0200

Second MoCaF Fact Sheet Published: Family, Career and Job Satisfaction of Internationally Mobile Individuals

The MoCaF (Mobile Careers and Families) project, led by Prof. Dr. Marcel Erlinghagen and Dr. Lisa Mansfeld at the University of Duisburg-Essen, is part of the DFG-funded Research Training Group RTG 2951 "Cross-Border Labour Markets".

MoCaF investigates the experiences of internationally mobile individuals and their families. Through a large-scale survey, the project explores how couples plan and organise international mobility, the opportunities and challenges associated with living abroad, and how families navigate changing social, cultural, and professional environments across countries.

The project has now published its second fact sheet, which provides an overview over family, career, and job satisfaction of internationally mobile individuals.

The fact sheet is available here.

The MoCaF project is embedded in the Research Training Group "Cross-Border Labour Markets", funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and jointly hosted by the University of Duisburg-Essen and Bielefeld University. The research team also includes Dr. Wiebke Anton and Rhoda Bangerter, who jointly organise the online initiative "Expat Couples Summit". The survey is conducted in cooperation with the Institute for Social Research & Communication (SOKO) in Bielefeld.

As international mobility has become an increasingly common life experience for many people in Europe and North America, understanding its consequences for families and partnerships has gained growing importance. While living and working abroad can create unique opportunities for personal and professional development, it also presents considerable challenges. MoCaF seeks to deepen our understanding of how internationally mobile families experience and manage these opportunities and challenges.

Zeitschrift für Soziologie: Call for Papers für Schwerpunktheft "Kulturelle Praktiken und Prozesse transnationaler und globaler Ungleichheiten"

Soziologie — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:20:07 +0200

Die Zeitschrift für Soziologie lädt zur Einreichung von Beiträgen für das Schwerpunktheft "Kulturelle Praktiken und Prozesse transnationaler und globaler Ungleichheiten" ein, das von Daniel Drewski (Bamberg) und Thorsten Peetz (Berlin) herausgegeben wird.

Bitte reichen Sie Ihre Abstracts (1–2 Seiten, in deutscher oder englischer Sprache) bis zum 31. Oktober 2026 bei den Gastherausgebern (daniel.drewski@uni-bamberg.de & thorsten.peetz@ipu-berlin.de) ein. Alle inhaltlichen und formalen Informationen finden sich im CfP.

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The Zeitschrift für Soziologie invites submissions for the special issue "Cultural Practices and Processes of Transnational and Global Inequalities," edited by Daniel Drewski (Bamberg) and Thorsten Peetz (Berlin).

Please submit your abstracts (1–2 pages, in German or English) to the guest editors (daniel.drewski@uni-bamberg.de & thorsten.peetz@ipu-berlin.de) by October 31, 2026. All relevant information can be found in the CfP.

Dr. Zhenwei Wang – Former Doctoral Researcher of AG Social Anthropology and BGHS Member – Won Annual Dissertation Prize by UGBi

Soziologie — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:42:39 +0200

On last Tuesday (21 July 2026), the Universitätsgesellschaft Bielefeld (UGBi) (University Society Bielefeld) awarded its annual Dissertation Prizes to the best doctoral dissertations written in 2025 from every faculty of the university. Among the fifteen winners this year is Dr. Zhenwei Wang, a former PhD student of AG Social Anthropology and BGHS member. Zhenwei is now working as a Research Associate at the Heidelberg Center for Ibero-American Studies (HCIAS), Heidelberg University.

Dr. Zhenwei Wang (Photo by Stefan Sättele)

Zhenwei's dissertation entitled "The gender and class dynamics of families on the move: An ethnography of translocal kinning and caregiving in contemporary China" shows that migration does not simply dissolve family relationships. Instead, Chinese families maintain their relationships over long distances through visits, financial support, storytelling, and digital monitoring. These practices create new forms of care and support, but also reflect inequalities in gender, generation, and social background.

The dissertation has now been turned into an upcoming monograph to be published by UCL Press in January 2027. For a sneak peek into the book's content, make sure to follow BielefeldANTHRO Book Podcast as Zhenwei is our next featuring author!

From left to right, Yukun Sun, Dr. Zhenwei Wang and Lana Emmerling in the podcast recording session

To learn more about the award and all the winners of 2025, please visit this page.

Once again, we congratulate Zhenwei on her accomplisments!

“Interdisciplinary Dialogue Often Happens in the Spaces In Between” RTG 2951 Doctoral Researcher Varsha Joshi on her Participation at the IMISCOE 2026 Conference in Girona

Soziologie — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 15:50:19 +0200

When I submitted my abstracts to the 23rd IMISCOE Annual Conference in 2025, I was working as a research associate in India. By the time I arrived in Girona, I was introducing myself as a doctoral researcher in the RTG 2951 “Cross-Border Labour Markets” at Bielefeld University—a sentence I had rehearsed more than once, given that I had started in this new role only three months earlier. This year's conference thus marked a personal transition as much as an academic one. It was my first major conference as a doctoral researcher, and the shift in perspective was as significant as the change in affiliation.

My contributions were spread across two panels. In the panel Rethinking Migration Skill Corridors through Stakeholder Engagement on Both Sides of Origins and Destinations, chaired by Dr Helen Schwenken (Principal Investigator of RTG 2951) and Dr Izabela Grabowska, I presented jointly with Daria Huss on stakeholder dynamics and governance structures in the India–Austria migration skill corridor. I also presented in Intermediary Agents of Educational Mobility: Rethinking Brokerage, Agency, and Engagement in International Educational Migration, chaired by Rica Agnes Castaneda and Dr Felicitas Hillmann. Alongside these presentations, I participated in the workshop More Collaborative, Less Extractive: Decentering Migration Research and Methodologies, which explored approaches to data extraction, collaboration, and community engagement in migration research.

I have attended similar conferences before, but almost always as someone reporting on project deliverables and scanning the programme for potential collaborators. Attending as a doctoral researcher felt different. For the first time, I found myself sitting in sessions not only to stay informed about developments in the field, but also to think carefully about what each presentation might contribute to my own emerging research project.

Some of the most valuable conversations happened outside the formal programme. Alongside exchanges with established scholars during panels and plenaries, I spent a great deal of time talking with fellow doctoral researchers. Some were further along in their journeys, generously sharing reflections on navigating fieldwork and the slower, often solitary process of writing. Others, like me, were only just beginning to define the contours of their projects. And some had come primarily to reconnect with the intellectual curiosity that had led them to doctoral research in the first place. Those conversations offered reassurance, practical advice, and a welcome reminder that research trajectories rarely follow a straight path.

Girona itself contributed to that sense of connection. In a smaller city, the conference naturally extends beyond the venue. Conversations continued on evening walks through the old town and over shared dinners. Many of these informal exchanges introduced me to research that initially seemed far removed from my own, only for surprising points of overlap to emerge as the conversations unfolded. These moments reminded me that interdisciplinary dialogue often happens in the spaces between scheduled sessions.

Looking back, IMISCOE 2026 was more than an opportunity to present my work. It was a chance to reconnect with former colleagues and friends, meet researchers whose work I had previously encountered only through publications, and engage with some of the most exciting scholarship in migration studies today. As someone at the beginning of a doctoral journey, I left Girona with new ideas, new connections, and renewed enthusiasm for the work ahead.

Vortrag von Kai Koddenbrock zum Thema "Deutschland im Zeichen des Völkermords verstehen" online

Soziologie — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Deutschland im Zeichen des Völkermords verstehen: Franz Neumann und die anhaltende Frage des Imperialismus

Deutschlands nationalsozialistische Vergangenheit und die Unterstützung der aktuellen israelischen Regierung machen das Land zu einem wichtigen Thema für akademische Analysen und politische Interventionen. Die Beziehung der deutschen Regierungen zur extremen Gewalt erfordert eine umfassende Untersuchung in den Sozialwissenschaften. Historisch wurde Deutschland zu einem Zentrum für Theorien über Imperialismus, Faschismus, Rassismus und Antisemitismus. In den letzten 80 Jahren hat jedoch eine liberale Analyse dominiert, die die kritische Tradition ignoriert.

In Anbetracht der wachsenden Rüstungsinvestitionen und des Aufstiegs der AfD untersucht Kai Koddenbrocks Vortrag, wie alte und neue Theorien von Faschismus und Imperialismus helfen können, das aktuelle deutsche „Modell“ zu verstehen. Die zentrale Frage ist, wie Deutschland sich sowohl im Inland als auch global weniger gewalttätig organisieren kann.

Der Vortrag von Kai Koddenbrock beim Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung ist jetzt online.

Kurzfilm: What Is Temporal Colonialism?

Soziologie — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:30:47 +0200

Ein aktueller Kurzfilm aus dem Projekt Futures of Difference widmet sich dem Begriff des Temporal Colonialism – der Idee, dass koloniale Macht nicht nur räumlich, sondern auch zeitlich wirksam ist. Im Zentrum steht die Frage, wie Fortschritt, Entwicklung und Zukunft als normative Maßstäbe eingesetzt werden, um Gesellschaften hierarchisch einzuordnen.

Der Film zeigt, wie bestimmte Gruppen oder Regionen entlang einer vermeintlich universalen Zeitachse als „zurückgeblieben“ oder „noch nicht so weit“ markiert werden – und wie solche Zeitordnungen politische und epistemische Machtverhältnisse stabilisieren. Der knapp gehaltene Beitrag eignet sich gut als Diskussionsimpuls für Lehrveranstaltungen und Debatten zu Postkolonialismus, Zeitsoziologie und globalen Ungleichheiten.

Der Beitrag stammt von Thomas Faist aus unserer Fakultät für Soziologie.

Zum Kurzfilm

Helga Volkening verstorben

Soziologie — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:10:56 +0200

Frau Helga Volkening, langjährige Mitarbeiterin am Arbeitsbereich Soziologische Theorie/Allgemeine Soziologie der Bielefelder Fakultät für Soziologie, ist in der Nacht vom 27. auf den 28. Juni in Bad Driburg verstorben.

Frau Volkening hatte in ihrer Heimatstadt Minden eine Buchhändlerlehre absolviert und las gern literarische Werke. Seit 2000 stand sie im Dienst unserer Fakultät. Als Sekretärin betreute sie u. a. Rudolf Stichweh, Klaus Lichtblau, Bettina Heintz, Tobias Werron, Rainer Schützeichel und Volker Kruse. Sie wurde als engagierte, verlässliche, belesene, mitdenkende, antizipierende Mitarbeiterin und Kollegin, die sich nicht aus der Ruhe bringen ließ, sehr geschätzt. Sie selbst hat immer wieder betont, wie wohl sie sich in der Fakultät gefühlt habe.

Nach dem Eintritt in den Ruhestand 2022 verschlechterte sich der gesundheitliche Zustand von Frau Volkening. Ihr letztes Lebensjahr verbrachte sie in einem Pflegeheim in Bad Driburg.

Neue Ausgabe der Zeitschrift für Soziologie – Band 55, Heft 2 erschienen

Soziologie — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:56:01 +0200

Der aktuelle Band 55, Heft 2 der Zeitschrift für Soziologie ist erschienen.

Die Beiträge dieser Ausgabe widmen sich zentralen Fragen politischer Soziologie, Gewaltforschung, Transformations- und Vertrauensforschung sowie migrationsbezogenen Bildungsungleichheiten. Damit greift das Heft sowohl grundlegende theoretische Debatten als auch empirische Analysen zu gegenwärtigen gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen auf.

Beiträge in Band 55, Heft 2

Das Heft umfasst folgende Beiträge:

Thomas Kron: Gewalt jenseits der Grauzone. Zur Kritik der ‚reflexiven Gewaltforschung'
Steffen Mau, Thomas Lux, Julian Heide: Der lange Schatten der DDR? Zum Zusammenhang von ehemaliger Systemnähe und aktuellen politischen Orientierungen von Ostdeutschen
Florian Buchmayr: Politisches Institutionenvertrauen im Wandel. Eine Längsschnittanalyse mit Daten des ALLBUS
Alexandra Manske: Machtkämpfe hinter den Kulissen
Hannah Glinka, Melanie Olczyk: Educational Expectations in the Context of Migration and Institution.

Zugriff und Veröffentlichung

Das Heft erscheint als Printausgabe. Über die Website des Verlags besteht zudem die Möglichkeit, auf die einzelnen Beiträge online zuzugreifen.

“An Opportunity to Deepen Perspectives on Migration Policy”. RTG 2951 Doctoral Researcher Ardita Osmani on Her Research Stay and Writing Retreat in Spain

Soziologie — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:53:15 +0200

Since April 2024 I am an associated researcher of the Research Training Group (RTG 2951) “Cross-Border Labour Markets”, based at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Early this summer with the support by the RTG 2951, I participated in two pivotal academic events in Spain: an intensive writing retreat in Barcelona and the 23rd Annual Conference of the International Migration Research Network (IMISCOE).

Diving Into Street-Level Bureaucracy: The Barcelona Writing Retreat

Academic writing requires dedicated time away from daily administrative tasks and other interruptions. From June 25 to 26, 2026, I attended a specialized writing retreat at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain. The event was organized by the IMISCOE Standing Committee on Migration Politics and Governance (MIGPOG) alongside the TransDeM Research Group (Transnational Relations, Democratization, and Migration) at UAB.

The retreat provided a highly supportive environment tailored specifically to the theme of Street-Level Bureaucracy in Migration Policy. The focus is on how frontline actors, such as border control workers, immigration officials, and social workers, shape migration governance through their everyday discretion, informal adaptations, and decision-making at the interface between the state and migrants.

Analyzing these frontline practices as institutional gatekeepers highlights how their discretionary choices indirectly impact the operational rules and realities of cross-border employment. Through structured writing blocks and peer-to-peer exchanges with international scholars, the retreat offered an invaluable space to refine core theoretical arguments regarding how frontline execution acts as a critical institutional enabler (or barrier) within transnational labor geographies. For doctoral researchers working on complex global phenomena, these collaborative spaces are essential for moving seamlessly from intensive field data to rigorous sociological analyses.

Beyond the intensive writing blocks, the retreat also offered an incredible opportunity for networking and engaging with more senior researchers who brought diverse disciplinary perspectives. This rich diversity within the group provided highly valuable learning moments, shedding light on the writing processes behind different types of scientific products and helping early career researchers navigate academic publishing better.

Presenting Research at 23rd IMISCOE Conference 2026

Following the retreat, my academic journey continued at the 23rd Annual Conference of the International Migration Research Network (IMISCOE), which took place from June 29 to July 2, 2026. Hosted by the Migratory Movements Group at the University of Girona under the overarching theme "Strengthening Migration Studies through Community Engagement," the conference brought together hundreds of international migration scholars, both online and on-site in Catalonia.

As one of the largest global gatherings of migration researchers, the venue provided an ideal platform to align the RTG’s focus on cross-border labor dynamics with contemporary discourses on global migration.

On Wednesday, July 1, I presented my paper online within the panel titled "Understanding Labour Migration: Recent Dynamics and Tensions." The panel brought together scholars to examine the shifting dynamics of labor migration, focusing closely on the sharp tensions that emerge between labor market demands, political exclusion, migrants’ rights, and agency. By exploring how states respond to demographic pressures and severe labor shortages while simultaneously engineering differentiated forms of inclusion, the panel closely mirrored the intellectual heart of the RTG 2951 project.

The presentation sparked vibrant discussions, offering insightful feedback from international peers and senior scholars. Beyond the presentation panels, the conference was an excellent opportunity to network, explore cutting-edge methodologies in migration studies, and strengthen ties between the RTG 2951 research network and the broader international migration research community in Germany.

Vacancy - PhD Position in DFG Project "Close Encounters: Development, Aspiration, and Intimate Politics among the Hmong of Laos and China” (Deadline 08 August)

Soziologie — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:08:43 +0200

We are pleased to announce a doctoral position as part of the DFG research project “Close Encounters: Development, Aspiration, and Intimate Politics among the Hmong of Laos and China” (2026–2029), led by Phill Wilcox, a researcher in social anthropology at the Department of Sociology at Bielefeld University.

Funded by the DFG, Close Encounters is an anthropological enquiry into the politics of intimacy and development between the Hmong of Laos and China. It seeks to understand what the politics of intimacy reveals about how Hmong youth develop their own lives and how far the politics of intimate connections mirrors macro level processes of development.

This is a part-time (75%) and fixed-term contract (36 months, until 30.09.2029).

Please refer to the official job postings below for more details:

Interdisciplinary Cooperation at Its Best: RTG 2951 Doctoral Researcher Maria Schäfer on Her Research Stay at the IAB Research Department "Migration and International Labour Studies" (INTER) in Nuremberg

Soziologie — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:40:03 +0200

Between September and December 2025, I had the opportunity to step outside my usual academic environment in Bielefeld and spend three months as a guest researcher at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg. Looking back, it was one of the most formative experiences of my PhD so far - professionally, because it opened the door to an entirely new dataset and research community, and personally, because it broadened my perspective on interdisciplinary collaboration.

Support from RTG 2951 for Interdisciplinary Cooperation

The research stay was made possible through the support of the Research Training Group (RTG) 2951, Cross-Border Labour Markets: Transnational Market Makers, Infrastructures, Institutions, where I have been a doctoral researcher since December 2024. Within the RTG's interdisciplinary environment, I pursue my doctoral research in Economics, examining how social capital, migration, and labor market institutions shape educational choices, migration decisions, and labor market outcomes.

As part of its interdisciplinary lecture series, RTG 2951 had previously invited Prof. Dr. Yuliya Kosyakova from the IAB as a guest lecturer and established her as one of the RTG's cooperation partners. This laid the foundation for an interdisciplinary collaboration between Sociology and Economics in the field of migration and labour market research. My research stay represented another important step in strengthening and expanding this cooperation.

Beyond providing a vibrant interdisciplinary environment for early-career researchers, RTG 2951 also provided the financial support that made this research stay possible.

A Spontaneous Yes

The story of how this research stay came about is, in many ways, my favorite part. Several months before it began, my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Anna Zaharieva, casually asked whether I would be interested in spending some time conducting research with the team of Prof. Dr. Yuliya Kosyakova at the IAB, I hardly needed a moment to think about it. My response was simply: "My bags are already packed." Looking back, that spontaneous answer turned out to be one of the best decisions of my PhD.

Breaking New Ground with the IMPa Data

One of the main reasons I was so excited about the stay was the opportunity to work with a dataset I had admired from afar: the International Mobility Panel of Migrants (IMPa), a survey conducted by the IAB. IMPa provides a unique and rich data source for studying the dynamics of international migration.

What made the experience particularly special was the opportunity to become the first external researcher granted access to the IMPa data. This came with a certain responsibility, but it also reflected the trust the INTER team placed in me. Their generosity in introducing me to the dataset, explaining its complexities, and helping me navigate it allowed me to get up to speed remarkably quickly.

From a Research Stay to a Lasting Collaboration

One of the most rewarding outcomes of my time at the IAB is that it did not end when the stay itself came to a close. During those three months, a new research idea emerged that has since developed into a joint project with sociologist Dr. Annette Jacoby from the IAB. In this project, we examine why some migrants leave Germany while others stay, focusing on how social capital and perceived discrimination influence emigration intentions.

To me, this illustrates one of the greatest benefits of a research stay: the value of a research stay isn't limited to the three months on site! It often continues to pay off long after you've packed your bags to go home. The conversations, ideas, and connections established during those months continue to shape my research long after returning home.

Feeling Part of the Team

Beyond the data and the research, what I will remember most is the atmosphere within INTER – the IAB's Department on Migration and International Labour Studies. From my very first day, I felt genuinely welcomed as part of the team. The academic exchange was both stimulating and supportive: colleagues took the time to discuss ideas, challenge assumptions, offer constructive feedback, and provide help whenever I encountered difficulties.

In addition to advancing my own project, I attended several seminars, workshops, and research presentations organized by the IAB and collaborating institutes. These events exposed me to current research, broadened my methodological knowledge, and inspired new ideas that will inform my future work.

This combination of intellectual curiosity, openness, and genuine collegiality created an environment in which interdisciplinary research could truly flourish. It is something I deeply appreciated and certainly do not take for granted.

Looking Ahead

Three months can feel both long and remarkably short. They are long enough to build meaningful collaborations, develop new research ideas, and make substantial progress, yet far too short to explore everything an institution like the IAB and its researchers have to offer

I returned to Bielefeld with access to an exciting new dataset, a collaborative paper underway, and a greatly expanded professional network. Even more importantly, I returned with fresh perspectives on interdisciplinary research and new ideas that will continue to shape my doctoral work.

My sincere thanks go to the entire INTER team for their warm welcome, inspiring discussions, and the sense of belonging I felt from my very first day. I am especially grateful to Prof. Dr. Anna Zaharieva for encouraging me to take this opportunity in the first place, without her encouragement, my bags might never have been packed. I also thank RTG 2951 for generously funding the research stay and everyone at the IAB who made these three months such a rewarding and unforgettable experience.

"An Opportunity to Build International Collaborations”. RTG 2951 Doctoral Researcher Duaa Kattana on Her Research Stay at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow

Soziologie — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:02:24 +0200

From 27 April to 15 June 2026, I had the opportunity to spend seven weeks as a Visiting Doctoral Researcher at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow. As a PhD researcher in Labor Economics and Migration Economics at the Research Training Group (RTG) 2951, Cross-Border Labour Markets: Transnational Market Makers, Infrastructures, Institutions, University of Duisburg-Essen, this research stay provided an excellent opportunity to advance my research while experiencing a highly international academic environment.

Hosted by Professor Michele Battisti in the Department of Economics, I continued working on my research project “The Labor Market Effect of Cross-Border Commuters: Evidence from EU Enlargement,” and benefited from regular discussions with faculty members and fellow researchers. These exchanges provided valuable feedback, helping me refine my research and consider new perspectives.

The research stay was made possible through the support of the Research Training Group (RTG) 2951, Cross-Border Labour Markets: Transnational Market Makers, Infrastructures, Institutions, where I started as one of the two doctoral researchers from economics in the first cohort in April 2024. Within the RTG's interdisciplinary environment, I pursue my doctoral research in economics, in the fields of Labor Economics and Migration Economics. As part of its interdisciplinary lecture series, RTG 2951 had previously invited Professor Michele Battisti as a guest lecturer and had thus initiated this cooperation with the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow.

A particular highlight was presenting my research during a PhD reading group session at the Adam Smith Business School. The constructive comments and engaging discussion offered valuable insights that helped me further improve my project, through refining my research questions and strengthening the overall direction of my project.

In addition to my own research, I attended several seminars and workshops organized by the department. One of the highlights was the Advanced Workshop on Contemporary Causal Panel Methods, delivered by Professor Scott Cunningham from 18 to 22 May 2026. The workshop introduced modern causal inference methods that are highly relevant for empirical research in labor economics and provided practical insights that I look forward to applying in my own work.

Beyond the academic activities, I greatly appreciated the welcoming and collaborative research culture at the University of Glasgow. The excellent library and study spaces provided an ideal environment for productive research and academic exchange.

Living in Glasgow was another rewarding aspect of the experience. The city's rich history, vibrant cultural life, and friendly atmosphere made it an enjoyable place to live during my stay. Experiencing a different academic and cultural environment broadened my perspective both personally and professionally.

Overall, this research stay strengthened my research skills, expanded my academic network, and provided valuable methodological insights that will benefit the remainder of my PhD and my future research. I would highly recommend an international research stay to other doctoral researchers, as it offers not only academic development but also the opportunity to build international collaborations and gain new perspectives.

New Journal Article by Hairuo Jin in Economy and Society

Soziologie — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:17:48 +0200

A new journal article by Hairuo Jin titled 'Financial charts in everyday speculation: Mobile-app trading among retail investors in the Chinese stock market' has been published in Economy and Society.

The article can be read here.

Abstract:

Retail investors in China increasingly trade through mobile apps that stream prices, charts and alerts. Based on 15 months of ethnographic research across online groups and in-person follow-ups in multiple cities, I demonstrate how everyday speculation is sustained by practices grounded in structured market information in online trading apps. Instead of valuing firms, investors speculate graphically, treating charts as living maps that fold past traces, present ticks and imagined futures. I argue that these practices constitute a mode of reasoning for plausible market paths within the shifting spaces left by sizable market-making funds and regulatory interventions. The paper offers a culturally contextualized account of everyday speculation in a political economy in which regulators and political powers are read alongside visual, relational and situated indicators within China’s state-shaped market structure.

Reference:

Jin, H. (2026). Financial charts in everyday speculation: Mobile-app trading among retail investors in the Chinese stock market. Economy and Society, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2026.2668807

Two new CIDAPE articles published

Soziologie — Thu, 9 Jul 2026 20:46:07 +0200

Sonja Blum and Nora Habelitz have published two new articles as part of their research in the Horizon Europe project "CIDAPE" (Climate, Inequality, and Democratic Action: The Force of Political Emotions).

The first article, written together with Johanna Kuhlmann, University of Bremen, is "How Do Policy Narratives Evoke Emotions? An Appraisal-Theoretic Approach". The authors argue that appraisal theory's emotion-process components - such as goal relevance, agency, control, and norm congruence - map onto the structural elements of policy narratives identified by the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) and can clarify how distinct emotions are evoked in policy narratives. The paper focuses on the emotion of anger and illustrates how anger-driven policy narratives can be empirically analyzed.

The second article titled "Energized? How German and Italian Party Actors Used Emotions in Energy Policy Narratives During the 2024 Elections" was co-authored with Fabienne Lind, University of Vienna. Drawing on social media data from the CIDAPE project and applying specific emotion dictionaries, the article investigates how German and Italian parties used emotions in energy policy communication during the 2024 European Parliament elections. Findings show a dominance of "positive" emotions ("affinity" and "compassion"), with however notable differences between parties' narrative emotionalization strategies.

Both articles are open access and emerged from Work Package 2 at Bielefeld University, which investigates emotional policy narratives around climate policy and their inequality dimension.

Blum, S., Kuhlmann, J., & Habelitz, N. (2026). How Do Policy Narratives Evoke Emotions? An Appraisal-Theoretic Approach. Policy Studies Journal, e70135. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.70135

Habelitz, N., Lind, F., & Blum, S. (2026). Energized? How German and Italian Party Actors Used Emotions in Energy Policy Narratives During the 2024 EU Elections. European Policy Analysis, 12(3), e70048. https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70048

RTG 2951 Doctoral Researchers Invited to DFG's RTG connect 2026

Soziologie — Thu, 9 Jul 2026 12:41:14 +0200

We are pleased to announce that Duaa Kattana, doctoral researcher in Economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, and Elisabeth Schmidt, doctoral researcher in Sociology at Bielefeld University, have been invited to participate in RTG connect, a networking and exchange event organized by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Both researchers are members of the Research Training Group RTG 2951 "Cross-Border Labour Markets" and have been invited on behalf of the President of the DFG, Professor Katja Becker, to represent the doctoral researchers of the Research Training Group at their universities.

The event will take place in Bonn on 13–14 October 2026 and brings together doctoral researcher representatives from DFG-funded Research Training Groups (RTGs) and International Research Training Groups (IRTGs) across Germany. Held in English, RTG connect provides a platform for discussing key issues affecting doctoral training and collaboration.

The programme will focus on topics including:

Interdisciplinarity in RTGs and IRTGs: experiences, opportunities, and challenges
Participation and involvement of doctoral researchers within RTGs
Mobility conditions in RTGs, with a particular focus on international mobility
"New Work" and cross-institutional collaboration in and among RTGs
Supervision concepts, challenges, and mechanisms for conflict resolution

We congratulate Duaa Kattana and Elisabeth Schmidt on this invitation and wish them productive discussions and valuable exchanges with fellow doctoral researchers from across the RTG community.