The "Sociology and Sociology of Sport" department, headed by Prof Dr Thomas Alkemeyer, comprises teaching and research on topics and issues relating in particular to sociological theories of practice, the sociology of the body and the sociology of sport.

On the following pages you will find information on our research profile, an overview of our members, projects and publications, as well as the topics and dates of the sociological research colloquium.

Social orders are (re-)produced and changed in social practices. At the same time, their subjects are formed in these processes. The body is the central 'arena' of subject constitution. In the practical and physical confrontation with the material and symbolic forces of the social world, the human being is formed into a subject, equipped with certain dispositions of behaviour and perception, of cognition, judgement and knowledge, of thinking and feeling. The consistency of these dispositions depends on the consistency of the practices in which they are formed. The orders and their subjects are therefore not static but dynamic; they are subject to historical change. Their emergence and change in supra-individual, interwoven practices can be observed particularly well in sport: Due to its spatio-temporal framing and the public nature (observability) of its performances, sporting practice is an excellent experimental set-up for investigating the mutual constitution of collectivity and subjectivity, of social orders, physicality and practical intelligence. In addition, it makes it possible to model problems of action and social coordination under conditions of uncertainty in a special way.

Further information:	"Sport and Society"