Autorentext
Dr. Bernhard Schäfers ist Professor für Soziologie und Leiter des Instituts für Soziologie, Medien- und Kulturwissenschaft an der Universität Karlsruhe

Inhalt
I. Sociology after the Second World War.- 1. 25 Years of German Sociology after World War II: Institutionalization and Theory.- 2. Social Research in the GDR.- 3. On the Development of Empirical Social Research in the Federal Republic of Germany.- II. Perceptible Traditions.- 1. Karl Marx.- 2. Nestor of German Sociology: Ferdinand Tönnies.- 3. Georg Simmel.- 4. Max Weber: The Living Classic.- 5. The Frankfurt School Critical Theory of Society.- III. New Paradigmata and Disputes. Contributions to the International Debate.- 1.Theory of Communicative Action, Discourse Ethics and Political Practice. Notes on Recent Developments in Habermas.- 2. Niklas Luhmann an Outline of the Theory of Autopoietic Social Systems.- 3. Norbert Elias and the Theory of Civilization.- 4. Explanatory Sociology.- 5. The Debate on the Individualization Theory in Today's Sociology in Germany.- 6. Changes in Perspective: Feminist Research in the Social Sciences.- IV. Aspects of Institutionalization.- 1. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie.- 2. Sociology in Bielefeld.- 3. Sociology in East German Universities: Decomposition and Reconstruction.- 4. GESIS German Society for Social Science Infrastructure.- 5. Institutional Success and Professional Insecurities on the Continent of the Founders of Sociology.- 6. Studying Sociology in Postwar Germany. A Historical Synopsis.- Biographical Notes of the Contributors.