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Department of Social Sciences

Bernd Sommer takes up new professorship

Prof. Dr. Bernd Sommer im Portrait auf einem Balkon © Urheber: Europa-Universität Flensburg

As of September 1, 2022, Bernd Sommer has taken up the professorship "Environmental Sociology with a Focus on Transformation Research", which has been newly established at the Technische Universität Dortmund. The Faculty of Social Sciences is thus expanding its range of research and teaching.

Bernd Sommer received his doctorate from Leibniz Universität Hannover in 2010 and has since conducted research in various capacities on the topics of sustainability and socio-ecological transformation as well as the social dimensions of climate change. Between 2010 and 2012, he worked in the ClimateCulture research area at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities Essen (KWI) and as a consultant at the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). He then headed the research area "Climate, Culture and Sustainability" at the Norbert Elias Center for Transformation Design & Research (NEC) at the European University of Flensburg. There he was also involved in the design and direction of the M.A. Transformation Studies. Further, he was a fellow at the Frederick S. Pardee Center for Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University and at the Kolleg Postwachstumsgesellschaften at the University of Jena.

His current work has focused on the consequences of a strengthening right-wing populism for a socio-ecological transformation as well as on societal transformation conflicts. Commenting on his appointment, Bernd Sommer said, "In view of the climate and energy crises, the transformation of the economy and society towards sustainability is on everyone's lips today. The TU Dortmund University has established a professorship that deals with exactly these topics. I'm looking forward to bringing a sociological perspective to the relevant debates."