---

Institute of Sociology

Understanding society, unlocking perspectives

The guiding principle of our work is to understand society in order to unlock perspectives on social change (institutions, organisations, generations, regional, national and transnational interrelationships). In doing so, we are committed to the standards of modern scientific principles. Our goals are to:

• Contribute to the understanding of social processes and structures
• Shape international scientific debate
• Teach sociology in all of its dimensions based on current scientific debate
• Foster up-and-coming researchers by giving them the opportunity to conduct research independently and autonomously
• Introduce sociology findings into public discourse
• Shape the development of the discipline on university and non-university committees.

News

Colloquium Series Summer 2026

The Institute for Sociology (IfS) invites all faculty, students, and other interested parties to this year's colloquium featuring presentations on the theme of *(Un)desired Transformations*.

Speakers from various specialized sociology and related disciplines will explore which changes are conceptualized against the backdrop of broader social and ecological pressures for adaptation, intensified by the current multiplicity of societal challenges, and which epistemic and normative assumptions implicitly underlie the debate surrounding the desirability of transformation pathways. This year's colloquium will thus serve as a forum for critical discussion on how *transformation* can be conceptually defined, how *desirable transformations* differ from *undesired ones*, and how societies can actively support the former.

Additional information and updates will be posted here – please stay tuned!

Getting Here

Getting Here from Halle Main Station:

Exit Halle Main Station through the main entrance located next to the DB travel centre, turn left and walk along the taxi rank to the tram stop.
Use the tram lines 2, 5, 10 and 12 and get off at "Am Steintor."
The journey time is about 5 minutes.
Tickets can be bought from the vending machine at the stop. Some trams also run with a vending machine on board.

---

Related areas

• Medical Sociology
• Health and Nursing Sciences
  (Professor Gabriele Meyer)
• Social Education and Social Policies
• Centre for Social Research    
• Institute of Higher Education Research (HoF)
• Reader Dr. Walter Bartl
• Professor Peer Pasternack
• Landesforschungsschwerpunkt und Graduiertenschule Gesellschaft und Kultur in Bewegung (GKB) / Society and Culture in Motion (SCM)

News archive

Up