Members:
Antonia Schirgi (spokesperson), Sabine Haring-Mosbacher, Raffael Hiden, Stephan Moebius, Frithjof Nungesser, Karin Scaria-Braunstein, Katharina Scherke
Associate members:
Christian Daye
Former members:
Karl Acham (em.), Gerald Angermann-Mozetic (retired), Matthias Duller, Christian Fleck (retired), Barbara Hönig, Manfred Prisching (retired), Martin Strauss
Brief description
Our research is concerned with (1) social theory and theory of society and (2) the analysis of sociology from the perspective of the history of the social sciences and sociology of knowledge.
- Our research focuses on fundamental questions of social theory and theory of society, for example by analysing the constitutive conditions of the social, such as the preconditions and characteristics of interaction, action, social practices, power, domination, sociality and corporeality. Our work is characterised by a broad approach to the social; therefore interdisciplinarity is essential for our research. This includes basic theoretical reflections that incorporate approaches from other disciplines, analyses of materials from different disciplinary backgrounds and collaboration with representatives of other disciplines. Central perspectives that we adopt include cultural sociology, sociology of religion, sociology of domination, sociology of emotions, sociology of the body and sociology of violence. Main theoretical approaches of our research include practice theories, phenomenology, post-structuralism, pragmatism and interactionism. In addition, the critical examination of the entire range of sociological paradigms is important to us.
- Our research into the history of sociology is based on the premise that it is necessary to combine approaches from the sociology of knowledge (especially based on Karl Mannheim) with approaches from the history of society, of discourses and of ideas. Members of our research area decidedly promote a sociologisation of the history of sociology. This perspective is extended to the present - in the sense of a more general sociology of sociology. Our work focusses on the history of German-speaking sociology (including the specifics of German and Austrian sociology), the history of French sociology and sociology in exile (during and after the Second World War). This meta-level of research into the history of sociology is supplemented by questions and analyses from the sociology of science.
The doctoral programme "Sociology and History of Social and Cultural Sciences", which was established at the University of Grazand is organised by the research focus, is committed to the idea of research-led teaching. The Research Centre is also significantly involved in the international Research Training Group "Resonant World Relations in Socio-religious Practices in Antiquity and the Present", that is funded by the FWF and the DFG.
Research on the history of sociology benefits from the close cooperation with the "Archive for the History of Sociology in Austria" (AGSÖ), which was initiated by members our research area in 1987. The archive was headed by Christian Fleck (1987-2006), later by Gerald Mozetič (2006-2013) and Katharina Scherke (2013-2021). Since 2021 Sabine Haring-Mosbacher has been leading the archive.
Originally, Reinhard Müller, a long-term employee of the AGSÖ was in charge of the archived documents. Later, Andreas Kranebitter took over the management of the documents. The current contact person for enquiries concerning the archive is Sabine Haring-Mosbacher.
Curated were among others:
- On the “Unemployed from Marienthal” („Arbeitslosen von Marienthal“)
- Marie Jahoda: Pioneer of social research
- Further Projects of the AGSÖ
In 2010, Gerald Mozetič set up the website "Edition Gumplowicz" (technical realisation: Martin Griesbacher). It, not only compiles relatively unknown texts by the lawyer and sociologist Ludwig Gumplowicz (1838-1909), who worked in Graz, and the date back to the early days of sociology, but it also grants access to archived, unpublished materials.