Teaching and Research Profile
The Institute of Sociology studies, both diachronically and synchronically, how social life comes into being and how it comes under pressure: in demographic and regional, national and international structural change, in education and work, in the economy and the environment. To do so, we combine sociological theories with quantitative, qualitative and computer-assisted methods. What we research shapes the focus of teaching - as for example in our master's programmes.
Three fields of research
1. Cohesion, structural change and life courses
What holds societies together when regions, populations and the world of work change rapidly? We study regional inequalities, demographic change, the planning of social infrastructure such as schools, family and partnership trajectories, and health inequality. Halle is a site of the Research Institute Social Cohesion (FGZ), and the Institute provides its spokesperson.
2. Education, life course and higher education
How do educational institutions shape people's lives, and how are they themselves governed? We research schools and how they assert themselves, multi-level governance in education, parents' educational decisions and academic careers. This field underpins the master's specialisation Education, Life Course and Higher Education (BLH).
3. Economy, culture and sustainability
How do companies, markets and societies deal with uncertainty and ecological change? We study financial markets and financialisation, sustainability in public limited companies, emotions in economic life, social pathways to protecting biodiversity, and culture, media and technological innovation. This field underpins the master's specialisation Culture, Economy and Innovation (KUWI).
Theory and methods across all three fields
We use sociological theories relationally and in international exchange. Our methods range from multilevel and structural equation models for couples and small groups to computer-assisted text analysis with topic models and semantic networks, in part with applications we have developed ourselves (see, for example, the software Multi- Text Analyser MTA ).
Selected projects
- Research Institute Social Cohesion, Halle site – funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space and the State of Saxony-Anhalt, phase II 2024–2029
- PLANET4B – transformative change for biodiversity in Europe, Horizon Europe
- DAISY – digital, technological and social innovation mixes enabling transformation for biodiversity and equity, Horizon Europe
- Biodiversity, physical fitness, sociability and health in Saxony-Anhalt (BioDivFund), 2022–2025
- Parents' educational expectations and decisions, Federal Ministry of Education and Research, 2022–2026
- Effects of life-course transitions on health inequalities, German Research Foundation (DFG), 2017–2023
- Sustainability and financial-market orientation in German public limited companies