Education

• 2014 M.A. “Sociology and Social Research”, University of Bremen
• 2011 B.A. “Sociology”, University of Konstanz
• 2007-2008 Studies in B.A. “Sociology”, University of Göttingen

Academic occupation

• since 2021 Scientific Assistant at Prof. Dr. Holger Lengfeld (Project “Changing middle class: A comparison of Germany and the US”), Leipzig University
• 2018-2020 Scientific Assistant at Prof. Dr. Holger Lengfeld (Chair “Institutions and Social Change”), Leipzig University
• 2015-2018 Scientific Assistant at Prof. Dr. Holger Lengfeld (Project “SOLIDUS”), Leipzig University
• 2014-2015 Scientific Assistant at Prof. Dr. Holger Lengfeld (Chair “Institutions and Social Change”), Leipzig University
• 2012-2014 Student Assistant at Prof. Dr. Steffen Mau (Chair for “Political Sociology”), Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS)

Changing middle class: A comparison of Germany and the US

Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. Holger Lengfeld; Dr. Pia Blossfeld

Research assistant: Florian K. Kley, M.A.

Duration: 01.01.2021-31.12.2023

Funded by: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG)

Description: In recent years, many economic and sociological studies have diagnosed that the German and US middle class is hollowing out. These empirical findings have generated a wide public resonance and are therefore of great political concern. However, a review of the current empirical literature identifies contradicting findings on the development of the middle class, questioning the conclusion that the middle class is shrinking in Germany and the US. The aim of this research project is to apply an income- and class-based as well as a multidimensional definition of the middle class to evaluate how far the middle class has changed since the Fall of the Iron Curtain in Germany and the US, whether there has been more intragenerational upward than downward mobility into and from the middle class, and whether changes on the labour market, female employment and family composition have influenced these processes. For our cross-national comparative approach, we rely on longitudinal household data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the American Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID).

Solidarity in European societies: empowerment, social justice and citizenship (SOLIDUS)

Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. Holger Lengfeld (Leipzig) and 13 partners from 11 European countries; coordinator: Prof. Marta Soler (University of Barcelona); in collaboration with Freie Universität Berlin

Research assistants (Leipzig): Florian Kley, M.A.; Lennart Selling, B.A.

Funded by: Horizon 2020 (2.5 Mio. €; Leipzig share: 511.140 €)

Duration: 01.06.2015 - 31.05.2018

Website: Solidus Official Homepage

SOLIDUS is part of the research program “EURO-3-2014 European societies after the crisis” funded by Horizon 2020, a research and innovation programme of the European Union. Among Leipzig, there are partners from 13 different European Countries involved in the whole project.

Research Questions:
The current crisis has led to a loss of trust in European institutions. While the question of a rising European society is mainly discussed in the context of a European collective identity, little attention is paid to acts of solidarity and attitudes toward transnational solidarity within Europe. The SOLIDUS-Project, funded by the European Union, is trying to shed light on questions concerning European solidarity in several areas: spatial dimension of solidarity, inter- & outgroup-solidarity, activating social citizenship, gendering social policies and combating social exclusion. While broadening the knowledge and understanding of solidarity, the project also aims at working out strategies to foster and strengthen solidarity through policy-actors and public administration.

Overall, the SOLIDUS Project has the following objectives:

Get a better understanding of European solidarity in different fields of social life.
Examine psychological, political, cultural and socio-economic factors influencing solidarity.
Examine the expressions of solidarity and explore new approaches of identity transcending the nation-state conception of citizenship.
Contribute to policy-making to foster European solidarity.

Research Methods:
Beside several qualitative studies conducted by other project partners, Leipzig is responsible for conducting the ‘Transnational European Solidarity Survey’ – TESS to be carried out in 13 European countries. For each country, approximately 1000 completed interviews will be realized among respondents eligible to vote and aged 18 or older that will be chosen from national standard list assisted random digit dialing (RDD) and interviewed using CATI technique.

Recent Publications:

• Gerhards, J./ Lengfeld, H. (2015): European Citizenship and Social Integration in the European Union. Routledge: New York and London.
• Lengfeld, H. / Schmidt, S. / Häuberer, J. (2015): Is there a European solidarity? Attitudes towards fiscal assistance for debt-ridden European Union member states. Institut für Soziologie der Universität Leipzig. Arbeitsbericht des Instituts für Soziologie Nr. 67 (April 2015). http://www.uni-leipzig.de/~sozio/content/site/a_berichte/67.pdf
• Gerhards, J./ Lengfeld, H./ Häuberer, J. (2014): The EU Crisis and Citizens’ Support for a European Welfare State. Berlin Studies of the Sociology of Europe (BSSE) No. 30. http://www.uni-leipzig.de/~sozio/mitarbeiter/m92/content/eigene_site/BSSE-Nr_30.pdf
• Gerhards, J./ Lengfeld, H. (2013): Wir, ein europäisches Volk? Sozialintegration Europas und die Idee der Gleichheit aller europäischen Bürger. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
• Gerhards, J./ Lengfeld, H. (2013): European Integration, Equality Rights and People’s Beliefs: Evidence from Germany. European Sociological Review 29 (1): 19-31.