Ups and Downs of Sociology in Germany: 1968–1990

Abstract

In the 1960s, Germany was strongly marked by changes in cultural values and social concepts of order, by new developments in art, music, and film, as well as suburbanization; also, as in many other countries, in 1968 there were massive student protests in Germany. The student movement brought sociology into the limelight. The Frankfurt School and the more Marxist Marburg School in particular became closely connected with the student movement. As a subject of study, sociology gained enormously in importance, which was connected with the growing need for social reflection in all areas of life. A characteristic feature of sociology in this period was an increasing differentiation into specialized subfields. The number of academic positions for sociologists and the number of students increased, partly as a result of the founding of new universities and of reforms in higher education policy. The increasing number of non-university research institutions complemented sociological research at the universities. This expansion, which coincided with a highly visible public sociology, also led to counter-movements: Conservative sociologists criticized the growing social influence of sociology and propagated an “anti-sociology.” As far as empirical social research is concerned, quantitative research had become more professional; interpretative social research had slowly developed, reinforced by the increasing reception of symbolic interactionism. The “planning euphoria” of the 1960s and 1970s weakened, and many looked at 1968 with disappointment and some even turned away from sociology. There were debates, such as that between representatives of Critical Theory and systems theory (the “Habermas-Luhmann debate”) and the debate on “theory comparison,” and controversies regarding “postmodernism.” The 1980s was the great time for sociological theory in Germany. Also, a further increase in the differentiation and pluralization of the sociological field could be observed.