Research Training Group World Politics RTG 2225

In times of crisis, sociological diagnoses of the present provide timely interpretations of the current state of society as a whole and thus attract the attention of both social scientists and broader reading publics. Since 2010, such diagnoses have been examined as a distinct disciplinary ‘genre’. Firstly, genre-typical features that distinguish this genre from other sociological forms of knowledge and publication are identified on the basis of prominent cases. Secondly, studying the relationship between diagnoses of the present and their ‘counter-genre’, sociological theories of society, allows to reflect upon disciplinary epistemic practices of the social sciences. Thirdly, the genre’s own history is explored, yielding insights into the interrelations between the production of sociological knowledge, social change and societal transformations.

My research combines these three foci out of systematic and historical intent: while it is commonly accepted that the genre emerges after 1945 and solidifies during the 1980s, diagnosing the present as a part of the emerging social sciences and especially of early sociology at the threshold of the twentieth century up to World War I largely remains a desideratum. The dissertation project starts here and explores the pre- and early history of the genre: comparing ‘world diagnoses’ of different founding figures of European sociology between 1820 and 1920 provides a new perspective on the interrelation between diagnoses of the present and theories of society, as well as between sociology, society and the public.

The guiding research questions are: What can we learn about disciplinary epistemic practices – especially about theories of society – and disciplinary self-descriptions by examining a scholarly genre? What differences and, sometimes surprising, similarities can be found by comparing the pre- and early history of diagnoses of the present to their current forms and how this genre is discussed within sociology?

To this end, I combine a broader historical contextualization with a comparative analysis of specific cases: Following the perspectives of social history and the history of science, I trace how observing modern society in the world out of present-diagnostic intent emerges as an epistemic practice of social sciences in the 19th century. In order to avoid some common pitfalls arising out of studying the pre- and early history of a genre, I propose to heuristically conceptualize diagnoses of the present of early sociology as ‘world diagnoses’. I substantiate this conceptual and historical framework by detailed analyses and comparisons of present-diagnostic writings from three disciplinary ‘founding figures’ of European early sociology: Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Max Weber.

• Meyhöfer, F. (with B. Schiffl) (forthcoming): '»Japan« and the global challenge of modernity. Constellations of social-scientific discourses on modernity in the 20th century', in: A. Isakova, M. Neuwinger, R. Schulze Waltrup and O. Uraiqat (eds.), Constructing Global Challenges. Discourse and Governance in World Politics. London: Routledge.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with B. Schiffl and J. Winkelhaus) (2023) (ed.). Kultur der Soziologie. Jahrbuch für Soziologiegeschichte. Frankfurt am Main: Springer VS.
• Meyhöfer F. (with B. Schiffl and J. Winkelhaus) (2023): 'Die Kultur der Soziologie und ihre Kultivierung', in: F. Meyhöfer, B. Schiffl and J. Winkelhaus (ed.), Kultur der Soziologie. Jahrbuch für Soziologiegeschichte. Frankfurt am Main: Springer VS, pp. 1–8.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with S. Fichtner) (2023): 'Die Dauer im Wandel. Bericht von der Jahrestagung des Arbeitskreises Historische Soziologie der DGS-Sektion Kultursoziologie am 5. und 6. Oktober 2023 in Berlin‘, in: Soziopolis – Gesellschaft beobachten, https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-91385-3.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with B. Schiffl) (2023). 'Fremd- und Selbstbilder Japans in den Sozialwissenschaften. Polarisierung und Dialogizität in Modernisierungsdiskursen 1910–1960', in: P.-I. Villa (ed.), Polarisierte Welten. Verhandlungen des 41. Kongresses der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie 2022, https://publikationen.soziologie.de/index.php/kongressband_2022/article/view/1592.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with M. Eldracher) (2023). Soziologisch denken mit Jacques Derrida. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with T. Werron) (2022). 'Gegenwartsdiagnosen. Ein öffentliches Genre der Soziologie', Mittelweg 36, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 17-38.
• Meyhöfer, F. (2021). 'Aus "Not und Hoffnung"? Das Charisma soziologischer Krisendiagnostik', in: P. Gostmann and P.U. Merz-Benz (eds.), Macht und Herrschaft. Zur Revision zweier soziologischer Grundbegriffe. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, pp. 225-266.
• Meyhöfer F. (with M. Galla) (2021). 'Brauchbarer Abfall. Über das Lesenlernen soziologischer Texte', in: T. Hoebel and S. Lahm (eds.), Kleine Soziologie des Studierens. Eine Navigationshilfe. Opladen: Barbara Budrich, pp. 98-103.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with F. Neumann and S. Lahm) (2021). 'Schreiblehrkonzepte an Hochschulen. Fallstudien und Reflexionen zum Schreibenlehren und -lernen'. Bielefeld: wbv.
• Meyhöfer F. (2019). 'Intellektuelle Krisenbewältigungspraxis in der Nachkriegsgesellschaft. Die epistemische Produktivität der "Krise" in Reinhart Kosellecks Studien zur Krise der Moderne', in: P. Gostmann and A. Ivanova (eds.), Soziologie des Geistes. Grundlagen und Fallstudien zur Ideengeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, pp. 237-332.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with B. Schiffl) (2019). 'Die Transserielle Konstellationsanalyse als soziologische Ergänzung zur Historisierung der Leitbegriffe des 20. Jahrhunderts', in: P. Gostmann and A. Ivanova (eds.), Soziologie des Geistes. Grundlagen und Fallstudien zur Ideengeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, pp. 83-111.
• Meyhöfer, F. (2018). 'Towards a common understanding of the desirable functions of higher education centralised support for teaching, learning, research and writing', Report of Short Term Scientific Mission COST Action 15221. Maynooth: COST Action 15221.

• Meyhöfer, F. (with K. Bien and Z. Tariq) (2017). 'Klausuren als Schreibberatungsgegenstand – Strategien und Methoden', JoSch - Journal der Schreibberatung, Vol. 13, pp. 25-30.

• Meyhöfer, F. (2016). 'Schreibberatung als Profession? Ein handlungslogischer Verortungsversuch', JoSch - Journal der Schreibberatung, Vol. 11, pp. 7-15.

• Meyhöfer, F. (with T. Ley) (2016). Soziologie des Konflikts. Eine Einführung. Hamburg: Kovac.

• Meyhöfer, F. (2023). Participation in the conference 'Kontinuität und Permanenz: Phänomene sozialer Dauer in Zeiten proklamierten Wandels', annual conference of the Working Group Historical Sociology, 04-05 October,Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with S. Hecke)  (2023). Organization of the Workshop 'Thinking against Empire' with Julian Go (Chicago), 22 June, Bielefeld University.

• Meyhöfer, F. (2023). Participation in the Workshop 'The Constitutive Force of Colonial  Comparisons', organized by N. Al Bayaa, M. Petzke & R. Rapior, 21-22  June, Bielefeld University.

• Meyhöfer, F. (2023). 'World Diagnoses. How can and to what end should we historicize a genre of sociology?'. Paper presented at the annual research-workshop of the working group 'Soziologie des Geistes', 18. February, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.

• Meyhöfer, F. (with B. Schiffl) (2022). 'Fremd- und Selbstbilder Japans in den Sozialwissenschaften. Polarisierung und Dialogizität in Modernisierungsdiskursen 1910–1960’. Paper presented at 41st Congress of the German Sociological Association (DGS): “Polarisierte Welten”, 26-30 September, Bielefeld University.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with B. Schiffl) (2022). ‘»Japan« and the global challenge of modernity. Constellations of social-scientific discourses on modernity in the 20th century’, Paper presented at RTG workshop: “Global Challenges in World Politics: Discourses, Actors and Outcomes”, 06-07 September, Bielefeld University.
• Meyhöfer, F. (2022). Participation in the conference 'Aufgaben Historischer Soziologie', Gründungstagung des AK Historische Soziologie, 20-21 April, Bielefeld University.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with B. Schiffl) (2021). ‘»Japan« and the Challenge of Global Modernity Constellations of social-scientific discourses on modernity in the 20th century’. Paper presentation at the RTG workshop 'Global Challenges in World Politics: Discourses, Actors and Outcomes', 13 December, Bielefeld University, online.
• Meyhöfer, F. (with T. Werron) (2021). ‘Die soziale Produktion von Gegenwartsdiagnosen - ein soziologischer Blick auf ein soziologisches Publikationsgenre’. Paper presented at the workshop ‘Theoretisieren’, 23 September, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Munich, Germany.
• Meyhöfer, F. (2021). Participation in the annual research workshops of the 'Arbeitsgruppe Soziologie des Geistes', March, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, online.
• Meyhöfer, F. (2021). Participation in the conference 'Post-Corona-Gesellschaft? Pandemie, Krise und ihre Folgen’, held by the Collaborative Congress of the German (DGS) and Austrian (ÖGS) Association for Sociology, 23-25 August, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, online.
• Meyhöfer, F. (2018). 'Die epistemische Funktionalität der Krise am Beispiel Reinhart Kosellecks Krise der Moderne'. Presentation held at the conference 'Kritiken der Krise', 29-30 June, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.