Prof. Dr. Rudolf Stichweh

Among the research interests of Rudolf Stichweh are two closely related to asymmetric dependencies:

1. He is working on a general sociological theory of inclusion and exclusion, especially with regard to the worldwide function systems of contemporary society. From this perspective, he will look to forms of indirect inclusion (inclusions mediated by other, more powerful persons who sponsor or patronize inclusion) and to forms of inclusion into society that begin with an act of exclusion (inclusion via monasteries, hospitals, institutions of penal law).
2. Looking primarily at premodern societies, he does research on persons who are perceived as strangers but are then incorporated into social systems. This then defines role sets for the participation of strangers in society.

There are many variants and forms of dependency related to these variants: guest roles in traditional societies, adoption and enslavement of strangers as as consequence of war, privileging or discriminating strangers as institutionalizations of dependency, and marriage partners as dependent strangers.

10 books, 8 edited volumes, 234 papers and 23 reviews. Approximately 500 national and international lectures and presentations.

1990
Habilitation in Sociology, Venia legendi for "Sociology," University of Bielefeld, Germany

1978–1983
Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Bielefeld, Germany

1972–1977
Diploma Studies in Sociology and Philosophy, Free University of Berlin and University of Bielefeld, Germany

since 2012
Professor for Theory of Modern Society, Forum Internationale Wissenschaft, University of Bonn, Germany

2003–2012
Professor for Sociological Theory and General Sociology at the Faculty of  Cultural and Social Sciences, University of Lucerne, Switzerland

1994–2003
Professor for Sociological Theory, Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld, Germany

1989–1994
Research Associate Max Planck Institute for European Legal History, Frankfurt, Germany

since 2015
Editor of "Global Studies and Theory of Society", book series of the Forum Internationale Wissenschaft, University of Bonn, Germany

since 2014
Member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts

since 2009
Co-editor of the "Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte"

since 1995
Editor of the journal "Soziale Systeme: Zeitschrift für soziologische Theorie" [Social Systems: Journal of Sociological Theory]

2013–2020
Mercator Foundation: project entitled "Politics and Sociology of the Science System"

2005–2015
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF): three individual projects entitled "The Law of Humanitarian Intervention," "Semantics of Romantic Love in Japan," and "Knowledge Sociology of Economics"

2003–2006
DFG Research Training Group "World Concepts and Global Structural Patterns," main applicant and spokesperson

2003–2005
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD): Graduate School of the Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld, main applicant and spokesperson

2002–2005
DFG project on Citizenship in Germany, France, England (in the cluster "The Space of the Political in History"), Faculty of History, University of Bielefeld, Germany

2000–2004
Volkswagen Foundation: individual project on "Friendship and Kinship" (in the program: Key Problems of the Humanities (together with Schuster et al.)

2000–2003
DFG individual project "Science in the Global Society"

The total sum of more than € 5 million.