Personen/Academic Board

Short CV

Stephan Lessenich has been a Professor for Social Theory and Sociology at Goethe Universität Frankfurt since 2021 and is the director of the Institute for Social Research. Before, he held the Chair of Comparative Social and Cultural Analysis at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (2004-2014) and the Chair of Sociology with a focus on Social Developments and Structures at Ludwig Maximilians Universität Munich (2014–2021).

Lessenich completed his doctorate at the University of Bremen (1993) on welfare states and labor markets, and his habilitation at the University of Göttingen (2002) focused on the continuity and change in the German social model.

Research focus

Stephan Lessenich’s research focuses on critical social theories, political sociology of social inequality, welfare state theory, and critical capitalism analyses. He also examines the challenges of a socio-ecological transformation of late-modern societies.

Recent projects

  • “Marginalisierungerfahrungen und Zusammenhaltserwartungen: Sozialräumliche Perspektiven” 2024–2027 (BMBF), Research Institute for Societal Cohesion in collaboration with Jonas Rees, Yann Rees, and Andreas Zick: This project investigates experiences of marginalization and expectations of social cohesion from a socio-spatial perspective, with a focus on the dynamics shaping social cohesion in different societal contexts.
  • “Zeitarbeitsfirmen im Wandel zur Beschäftigungsindustrie?” 2020–2022, (Hans-Böckler Foundation), in collaboration with with Hans Pongratz: This project explored the transformation of temporary employment agencies into permanent employment industries and analyzed changes in the employment structures within this sector.
  • “Praktiken der Solidarität. Strukturen und Dynamiken transnationaler Solidarität im 20. und 21. Jahrhundert” 2018–2021 (BMBF), in collaboration with Dietmar Süß and Michael Reder: This project examined the evolution and dynamics of transnational solidarity practices, considering historical and contemporary forms of cross-border cooperation and mutual support.