Jürgen Gerhards – författare

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Academic and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.Across the world, the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes has more than doubled during the last decade. Although international law does not allow states to turn back refugees, some countries close their borders to refugees, some open their borders and grant extensive protection, while others admit some groups of refugees while excluding others. How can we make sense of these different responses to admitting refugees? In this book, Daniel Drewski and Jürgen Gerhards show that governments' refugee policy, as well as the stance adopted by opposition parties on the issue, is heavily dependent on how they frame their country's collective identity on the one hand and the identity and characteristics of the refugees on the other. By defining the "we" and the "others", politicians draw on collectively shared cultural repertoires, which vary by country and by political constituency within a country. The book is based on a discourse analysis of parliamentary debates. It explores the specific framing of nations' identities and the corresponding perceptions of otherness by focusing on six countries that have been confronted with large numbers of refugees: Germany, Poland, and Turkey, all responding to the exodus of Syrian and Middle Eastern refugees; Chile's reaction to the Venezuelan displacement; Singapore and its stance towards Rohingya refugees; and Uganda's response to the displacement from South Sudan. The study explores not only differences between governments of different countries but also the conflicting views of different political parties within the same country.This volume has emerged from research carried out as part of the Cluster of Excellence "Contestations of the Liberal Script - SCRIPTS", which analyzes the contemporary controversies about liberal ideas, institutions, and practices on the national and international level from a historical, global, and comparative perspective. It connects academic expertise in the social sciences and area studies and collaborates with research institutions in all world regions. Operating since 2019 and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), SCRIPTS unites eight major Berlin-based research institutions: Freie Universität Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), the Hertie School, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the Berlin branch of the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS), and the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO).

The euro crisis, several sovereign debt crises, the Great Recession, the refugee crisis, and Brexit have all challenged Europeans’ willingness to show solidarity with other European citizens and member states of the European Union. European Solidarity in Times of Crisis provides a clear theoretical framework to understand European solidarity for the first time. It offers a systematic empirical approach to determine the strength and causes of European solidarity. The authors distinguish between four domains of solidarity and test a set of theoretically derived criteria with a unique dataset to investigate European solidarity.Based on a survey conducted in thirteen EU member states in 2016, the empirical analysis leads to some unanticipated results. Europeans display a notably higher degree of solidarity than many politicians and social scientists have presumed so far. This especially applies to the support of people in need (welfare solidarity) and the reduction of territorial disparities between rich and poor EU countries (territorial solidarity), but also to the domain of fiscal solidarity (financial support of indebted EU countries). This optimistic view is less true for the domain of refugee solidarity. While citizens of western and southern EU countries accept the accommodation of refugees and their allocation between European countries, the majority of people in eastern European countries do not share this point of view. The book will appeal to students and scholars in fields such as comparative sociology, political science, social policy and migration research, and European studies. It is also relevant to a non-academic audience interested in the development of the European project.

The euro crisis, several sovereign debt crises, the Great Recession, the refugee crisis, and Brexit have all challenged Europeans’ willingness to show solidarity with other European citizens and member states of the European Union. European Solidarity in Times of Crisis provides a clear theoretical framework to understand European solidarity for the first time. It offers a systematic empirical approach to determine the strength and causes of European solidarity. The authors distinguish between four domains of solidarity and test a set of theoretically derived criteria with a unique dataset to investigate European solidarity.Based on a survey conducted in thirteen EU member states in 2016, the empirical analysis leads to some unanticipated results. Europeans display a notably higher degree of solidarity than many politicians and social scientists have presumed so far. This especially applies to the support of people in need (welfare solidarity) and the reduction of territorial disparities between rich and poor EU countries (territorial solidarity), but also to the domain of fiscal solidarity (financial support of indebted EU countries). This optimistic view is less true for the domain of refugee solidarity. While citizens of western and southern EU countries accept the accommodation of refugees and their allocation between European countries, the majority of people in eastern European countries do not share this point of view. The book will appeal to students and scholars in fields such as comparative sociology, political science, social policy and migration research, and European studies. It is also relevant to a non-academic audience interested in the development of the European project.

Due to globalization processes, foreign language skills, knowledge about other countries and intercultural competences have increasingly become important for societies and people’s social positions. Previous research on social inequality, however, has dominantly focused on the reproduction of class structures within the boundaries of a particular nation-state without considering the importance of these specific skills and competences.Within Social Class and Transnational Human Capital authors Gerhards, Hans and Carlson refer to these skills as ‘transnational human capital’ and ask to what extent access to this increasingly sought-after resource depends on social class. Based on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of class, they investigate this question via both quantitative and qualitative empirical analyses. In doing so the authors focus, among other examples, on the so-called school year abroad, i.e. students spending up to a year abroad while attending school – a practice which is rather popular in Germany, but also quite common in many other countries. Thus, this insightful volume explores how inequalities in the acquisition of transnational human capital and new forms of social distinction are produced within families, depending on their class position and the educational strategies parents pursue when trying to prepare their children for a globalizing world.An enlightening title, this book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers interested in fields such as sociology, social inequality research, globalization studies and educational studies.

Within a few years the European Union will be enlarged from fifteen to twenty-eight member states, including Turkey. Cultural Overstretch investigates whether the new countries culturally fit into the European Union. Interpreting the European treaties and the European Law, Gerhards describes in a first step what he calls 'The value script of the European Union'. Using survey data from twenty-eight countries the author examines in a second step whether citizens support the value script of the European Union and whether there are significant differences between old and new member states and candidate countries. The book also highlights cultural differences by referring to modernization theory and forecasts in the concluding chapter the political consequences of a possible cultural overstretch of the European Union.

Within a few years the European Union will be enlarged from fifteen to twenty-eight member states, including Turkey. Cultural Overstretch investigates whether the new countries culturally fit into the European Union. Interpreting the European treaties and the European Law, Gerhards describes in a first step what he calls 'The value script of the European Union'. Using survey data from twenty-eight countries the author examines in a second step whether citizens support the value script of the European Union and whether there are significant differences between old and new member states and candidate countries. The book also highlights cultural differences by referring to modernization theory and forecasts in the concluding chapter the political consequences of a possible cultural overstretch of the European Union.

From decade to decade, significant changes occur in the choice of first names for children. One-time favorites are perceived as old fashioned and replaced by new choices. In The Name Game, Jurgen Gerhards shows that shifts in the choice of names are based on more than arbitrary trends of fashion. Instead, he demonstrates, they are determined by larger currents in cultural modernization. Using classic tools of sociology, Gerhards focuses on changing atterns of first names in Germany from the end of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth, using these as an indicator of cultural change. Among the influences he considers are religion, and he notes a trend toward greater secularization in first names. He considers the extent to which Christian names have been displaced, and whether the process is similar for Catholics and Protestants. He traces the impact of different political regimes (Second Empire, Weimar Republic, Third Reich, West Germany, East Germany) and the accompanying rise and fall of German nationalist sentiment. He also investigates the dissolution of the family as a unit of production, and its impact on the naming of children. He shows that the weakening of traditional ties of religion, nation, and family has led to greater individuation and greater receptivity toward foreign first names. Gerhards concludes with a discussion of whether the blurring of gender and sex roles is reflected in the decrease of gender-specific names. Written in a lucid, approachable style, The Name Game will be of interest not only to sociologists and cultural studies specialists, but also non-professionals, especially parents who are interested in reflecting on the process of name giving.

Since 2008, the European Union has been affected by one of the most severe crises in the history of Europe. This book builds on the work of Jürgen Habermas to answer the key question: is Europe strong enough to overcome the recent crisis? Arguing that recovery can only take place if the citizens of Europe regard themselves as members of a socially integrated European society, this volume sets out three conditions for successful European social integration: European citizens mutually respect each other as equals, accepting that all EU citizens should have equal economic, political and social rights.Those citizens objecting to the idea of European equality should not constitute a minority with potential for mobilisation that could impede the ongoing process of European social integration.Europeans act upon their equality beliefs in everyday practice – without differentiating between nationals and EU migrants. Based on a survey carried out in Germany, Spain, Poland and Turkey, the authors argue that the requirements for a socially integrated Europe are largely in place already. Their findings allow for optimism regarding the future of the EU, as the cultural foundations for a democratisation of Europe are laid.This volume develops a theoretical framework of a socially integrated European community, and will be useful for students and scholars of sociology, citizenship studies, social policy, political science and European studies.

Due to globalization processes, foreign language skills, knowledge about other countries and intercultural competences have increasingly become important for societies and people’s social positions. Previous research on social inequality, however, has dominantly focused on the reproduction of class structures within the boundaries of a particular nation-state without considering the importance of these specific skills and competences.Within Social Class and Transnational Human Capital authors Gerhards, Hans and Carlson refer to these skills as ‘transnational human capital’ and ask to what extent access to this increasingly sought-after resource depends on social class. Based on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of class, they investigate this question via both quantitative and qualitative empirical analyses. In doing so the authors focus, among other examples, on the so-called school year abroad, i.e. students spending up to a year abroad while attending school – a practice which is rather popular in Germany, but also quite common in many other countries. Thus, this insightful volume explores how inequalities in the acquisition of transnational human capital and new forms of social distinction are produced within families, depending on their class position and the educational strategies parents pursue when trying to prepare their children for a globalizing world.An enlightening title, this book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers interested in fields such as sociology, social inequality research, globalization studies and educational studies.

From decade to decade, significant changes occur in the choice of first names for children. One-time favorites are perceived as old fashioned and replaced by new choices. In The Name Game, Jurgen Gerhards shows that shifts in the choice of names are based on more than arbitrary trends of fashion. Instead, he demonstrates, they are determined by larger currents in cultural modernization. Using classic tools of sociology, Gerhards focuses on changing atterns of first names in Germany from the end of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth, using these as an indicator of cultural change. Among the influences he considers are religion, and he notes a trend toward greater secularization in first names. He considers the extent to which Christian names have been displaced, and whether the process is similar for Catholics and Protestants. He traces the impact of different political regimes (Second Empire, Weimar Republic, Third Reich, West Germany, East Germany) and the accompanying rise and fall of German nationalist sentiment. He also investigates the dissolution of the family as a unit of production, and its impact on the naming of children. He shows that the weakening of traditional ties of religion, nation, and family has led to greater individuation and greater receptivity toward foreign first names. Gerhards concludes with a discussion of whether the blurring of gender and sex roles is reflected in the decrease of gender-specific names. Written in a lucid, approachable style, The Name Game will be of interest not only to sociologists and cultural studies specialists, but also non-professionals, especially parents who are interested in reflecting on the process of name giving.

Since 2008, the European Union has been affected by one of the most severe crises in the history of Europe. This book builds on the work of Jürgen Habermas to answer the key question: is Europe strong enough to overcome the recent crisis? Arguing that recovery can only take place if the citizens of Europe regard themselves as members of a socially integrated European society, this volume sets out three conditions for successful European social integration: European citizens mutually respect each other as equals, accepting that all EU citizens should have equal economic, political and social rights.Those citizens objecting to the idea of European equality should not constitute a minority with potential for mobilisation that could impede the ongoing process of European social integration.Europeans act upon their equality beliefs in everyday practice – without differentiating between nationals and EU migrants. Based on a survey carried out in Germany, Spain, Poland and Turkey, the authors argue that the requirements for a socially integrated Europe are largely in place already. Their findings allow for optimism regarding the future of the EU, as the cultural foundations for a democratisation of Europe are laid.This volume develops a theoretical framework of a socially integrated European community, and will be useful for students and scholars of sociology, citizenship studies, social policy, political science and European studies.

Welche Merkmale kennzeichnen den Beruf des Kunstlers? Welche Konflikte gibt es innerhalb eines Opernorchesters? Welchen Einfluss haben Galeristen auf die Vermittlung von Kunst? Welche Rollen spielen die Massenmedien in der Prasentation von Kunst in der Offentlichkeit? Wie unterscheiden sich soziale Schichten in der Rezeption von Kunst? Dies sind einige der Fragen, die in diesem Buch beantwortet werden. Im ersten Teil des Bandes werden verschiedene soziologische Theorien der Analyse von Kunst vorgestellt. Der zweite Abschnitt ist dann der Analyse der Vergesellschaftung der Kunstproduzenten gewidmet, wahrend im dritten Teil die Vermittler und Markte von Kunst in verschiedenen empirischen Fallstudien beschrieben werden. Der Band schliesst mit einem Kapitel, das der Analyse der Rezipienten von Kunst gewidmet ist.

Die Festschrift fur Friedhelm Neidhardt zum 65. Geburtstag enthalt 20 Beitrage von seinen Kollegen und Schulern. Zwei analytische Perspektiven sind fur die Neidhardtsche Soziologie konstitutiv: Zum einen werden soziale Phanomene nicht (allein) auf die Handlungen von einzelnen Akteuren zuruckgefuhrt, sondern auf die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Akteuren und die sich daraus entfaltende Eigendynamik. Zum anderen fragt Neidhardt in seinen Arbeiten nach Rationalitatskriterien sozialer Prozesse und versucht, die Leistungsfahigkeit von Wissenschaft und Offentlichkeit zur Verbesserung von Rationalitat zu bestimmen. Die Autoren des Bandes greifen diese beiden analytischen Perspektiven auf und untersuchen Prozesse der Eigendynamik in unterschiedlichen gesellschaftlichen Bereichen und fragen nach der Rationalitat sozialer Prozesse.

Globalisierung und die fortschreitende Verflechtung der Mitgliedsländer der Europäischen Union führen zu neuen Anforderungen an und Chancen für die Bürger in Europa. Wollen diese am Europäisierungsprozess partizipieren, indem sie z. B. im Ausland studieren oder arbeiten, dann müssen sie die Sprache des jeweiligen Landes sprechen. Transnationales sprachliches Kapital wird damit zu einer zentralen Ressource der Teilhabe am Europäisierungsprozess. Jürgen Gerhards rekonstruiert die Rahmenbedingungen, unter denen Mehrsprachigkeit zu einer zentralen Ressource geworden ist. Auf der Grundlage einer Umfrage in 27 Ländern der EU analysiert er die Fremdsprachenkompetenz der Bürger Europas; dabei gelingt es ihm, die enormen Unterschiede, die sich in der Ausstattung mit transnationalem sprachlichen Kapital zwischen und innerhalb der Länder zeigen, systematisch zu erklären. Gerhards plädiert für eine radikale Umkehr in der Sprachenpolitik der EU, indem er sich für die verbindliche Einführung des Englischen als ‚lingua franca’ in Europa ausspricht.

Ohne die Berichterstattung der Massenmedien würden die meisten Menschen kaum etwas über terroristische Anschläge erfahren. Allerdings können Medien derartige Anschläge sehr unterschiedlich darstellen. Die Studie vergleicht die Terrorismusberichterstattung von fünf Fernsehsendern aus unterschiedlichen Ländern und Weltregionen: CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC, ARD und RTL. Untersucht werden die Formate der Berichterstattung, die inhaltlichen Deutungen der Anschläge und die damit verbundenen Emotionsdarstellungen. Vorgefundene Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten werden u.a. mit Hilfe von Globalisierungstheorien und Theorien kultureller Unterschiede interpretiert.

​Die Eurokrise ist eine der schwersten Krisen der EU seit ihrer Gründung. Bei ihrer Lösung geht es nicht allein um den Erfolg von konkreten wirtschaftspolitischen Maßnahmen, sondern um den Zusammenhalt zwischen den Bürgern der verschiedenen Mitgliedsländer. Jürgen Gerhards und Holger Lengfeld entwickeln ein Konzept einer sozial integrierten europäischen Gesellschaft, das auf der Annahme beruht, dass sich die EU-Bürger unabhängig von ihrer jeweils konkreten nationalen Herkunft als Gleiche anerkennen. Anhand von Daten einer Umfrage aus vier Ländern prüfen sie, in welchem Maße die Europäer diese Idee einer europäisierten Chancengleichheit unterstützen oder ob sie weiterhin einem nationalstaatlich geschlossenen Gleichheitskonzept anhängen. Die empirischen Befunde der Studie stimmen optimistisch: Die kulturellen Grundlagen für ein sozial integriertes Europa scheinen gegeben zu sein, da sich die Bürger der Europäischen Union in hohem Maße als Gleiche anerkennen, sich kaum gesellschaftliche Konfliktlinien um die Zubilligung gleicher Rechte für Bürger aus anderen EU-Ländern zeigen und die Menschen sich auch in der Alltagspraxis weitgehend an diesen Werten orientieren.

Transnationales Humankapital, beispielsweise in Form von Fremdsprachenkenntnissen und interkulturellen Kompetenzen, ist eine Ressource, die im Rahmen von Globalisierungsprozessen immer bedeutsamer wird und zu neuen sozialen Ungleichheiten führt.

Fremdsprachenkenntnisse, interkulturelle Kompetenzen und ein kosmopolitischer Habituswerden im Kontext von Globalisierungsprozessen immer bedeutsamer. Die Autoren der Studiezeigen, dass der frühe Erwerb von transnationalem Humankapital durch den Besuch einesbilingualen Kindergartens oder ein Auslandsjahr als Schüler von der sozialen Klassenlage der Eltern abhängig ist. Mit Bezugnahme auf die Arbeiten Pierre Bourdieus und auf der Grundlage von quantitativen Daten einerseits und einer dichten qualitativen Beschreibung andererseits beschreiben sie, wie die Eltern der oberen und mittleren Klassen ihre Kinder systematisch auf eine globalisierte Welt vorbereiten, neue Distinktionsgewinne erzielen und damit neue soziale Ungleichheiten produzieren.