Ups and Downs of Sociology in Germany: 1968–1990

Sociology in Germany, 2021

In this chapter, the beginnings of sociology in Germany up until 1945 are presented. Similar to France, in Germany the genesis of sociology is closely linked to the emergence of bourgeois society, industrialization, and the perception of a social and cultural crisis. At the turn of the century, the now well-known “founding fathers,” such as Ferdinand Tönnies, Georg Simmel, and Max Weber, published their classical works. Journals and professional organizations were founded. In the interwar period, sociology became established as an academic discipline at universities. National Socialism brought sociology as an institutionalized and well-established discipline to an end. The Nazis had no interest in sociology as an independent science. But even though sociology cannot be identified as a discipline in the years 1933 to 1945, there were people who worked sociologically. It was in particular their empirical and methodological knowledge that was useful for the Nazis.

Soziologie, 1994

Sosyoloji Dergisi, 2011

Since the 1990s German sociology is confronted with a lost of its “supremeness of interpretation” of societal trends and processes to other academic disciplines, like biology or anthropology. This may be surprising, if one compares the situation in the 1960s and 1970s, where Sociology in Germany was a leading science, analyzing the problems and contradictions of German society and was important for the academic and intellectual socialization of a generation of young students and scholars. The aim of this article is to give a brief overview about contemporary German sociology, describe the current situation of Sociology in Germany and to give an answer for its actual problems and lost of influence.

Soziologie – Sociology in the German-Speaking World. Soziologische Revue – Special Issue, 2021

This article is an overview of relevant books in the field of the history of sociology and deals with the developments, trends, and essence of research in studies on the history of sociology in the German-speaking world since 2000. It discusses studies on the methodology of the history of sociology, publications on the institutionalization of sociology, on early and modern classics, on national and transnational historiography, and on sociology in face of National Socialism.Although the history of sociology is only rudimentarily institutionalized, especially in Germany, and there are almost no chairs or specialist journals for the history of sociology , we can nevertheless discern a spirit of optimism among younger researchers in this field. At the same time, we still lack a productive exchange with other historiographic sciences.

Modern German Sociology, 2021

Originally published in 1987 Modern German Sociology is a collection of essays containing sociological work published in German since World War II. Included are sections from such outstanding figures as Theodor Adorno, Alexander Mitscherlich, Jiirgen Habermas, Niklas Luhmann, and Ralf Dar endorf. The editors have arranged the essays into five sections that express their view of the chief aspects of modern German sociology and have written a helpful introduction to each section.

Teaching Sociology, 2019

We discuss findings from a survey of sociology students in Germany and consequences for teaching. We focus on the de facto formation of a sociological canon, the relation between theories and methods, and effects of social and political characteristics on student’s scientific preferences. Our findings suggest that irrespective of an agreement of the sociological professionals on a common definition of a core, a de facto canon of theories and methods exists in teaching practices. Moreover, specific relations between sociological theories and methods occur in the data. Both should be recognized in the discussion about curricula design, especially concerning teaching research methods. Finally, we discovered effects of gender and political attitude on students’ preferences for theories and methods. Such differences might be associated with different motivations for studying sociology and labor market orientation. This should be considered in curricula design as well, especially at the local level of departments.

There has been much discussion in recent years of sociology's "historical turn" Smith 1991;. There has been less attention, however, to the reasons for the historical turn in sociology, or for its unequal development in different parts of the world. Indeed, most of the literature has focused on the United States Adams, Clemens, and Orloff 2005], and to a lesser extent on Great Britain. This article examines the reasons for the shifting fortunes of historical sociology and for the various forms it has taken. To understand the ebb and flow of historical interest among sociologists it is necessary to pay attention to extra-scientific changes such as macrosocial crisis and stabilization, as well as intra-scientific processes such as the varying relations between history and sociology in different periods and countries and the internal hierarchies within each disciplinary field. Analysis of an international disciplinary field needs to examine patterns of domination and resistance both within fields and cross-nationally (especially the global "Americanization" of postwar social science) as well as national peculiarities and the specific channels of the international circulation of ideas and social scientists, such as the difference between forced emigration and free academic exchange [Bourdieu 1991;.

Sociologica, 2007

Ente di afferenza: () Copyright c by Società editrice il Mulino, Bologna. Tutti i diritti sono riservati. Per altre informazioni si veda https://www.rivisteweb.it Licenza d'uso L'articoloè messo a disposizione dell'utente in licenza per uso esclusivamente privato e personale, senza scopo di lucro e senza fini direttamente o indirettamente commerciali. Salvo quanto espressamente previsto dalla licenza d'uso Rivisteweb,è fatto divieto di riprodurre, trasmettere, distribuire o altrimenti utilizzare l'articolo, per qualsiasi scopo o fine. Tutti i diritti sono riservati.

Soziologie - Sociology in the German-Speaking World

This article dealswith the developments, trends,and essence of researchin studies on the history of sociologyi nt he German-speaking world since 2000.I tdiscusses studies on the methodologyo ft he history of sociology, publications on the institutionalization of sociology, on earlya nd modern classics, on national and transnationalh istoriography, and on sociologyi nf ace of National Socialism.A lthough the history of sociologyi sonly rudimentarilyi nstitutionalized, especiallyi n Germany, and there are almost no chairs or specialist journals for the history of sociology, we can nevertheless discern aspirit of optimism among youngerresearchers in this field.A tt he same time, we still lack ap roductive exchangew ith otherh istoriographic sciences.

EconStor Open Access Articles, 1991

The existence and activities of social movements, on the one hand, and so cial-scientific study of them, on the other, are usually linked closely to gether. The flourishing of social movements is likely to promote, although with some delay, a corresponding boom in research on social movements. West Germany did not follow such a pattern, though, for a long period of its existence. In the postwar period at least, the general public had mixed feel ings about discussing social movements. This term was by no means neutral as it had been heavily exploited by the Nazi-regime. For many people, social movements were discredited per se as a means for influencing the political process. For a number of reasons, certainly going beyond mere terminology, the Nazi-movement did not induce sociological social movement analysis. Until today, this movement has rather been an object of study of political scientists and historians. The labor movement also did not become a central object for sociology. The conflict between labor and capital had already been moderated and me diated during the Weimar republic. This processes continued in the period after the Second World War. Mainly due to the effects of the Nazi regime, but also as a result of profound socioeconomic changes, the labor move ment could not re-establish its once vital counter-cultural networks. It very soon crystallized into the institutionalized forms of unions and parties, and 1 An earlier and shorter version o f this essay was presented at the Annual Conference o f the French Society o f Sociology, September 29-30, 1989, in Paris and published-in German-under the title »Die Analyse der neuen sozialen Bewegungen in der Bun desrepublik-eine Zwischenbilanz« in Forschungsjoumal Neue Soziale Bewegungen, Sonderheft 1 9 8 9 .1 am grateful to Roland Roth for comments on earlier versions o f this article.