Prof. Dr. Klaus Dörre
The Kassel region [is] a hub of socio-ecological transformation. Much of what is being negotiated on the world's big stages can be found here on a small scale.
Interview
What exactly is your area of expertise researching? What specific questions or problems are you currently trying to solve?
As a sociologist, I deal with social conflicts that arise in the course of socio-ecological transformation and digital change. My topic is the “contested transformation” in the world of work. In this context, I am particularly interested in whether and how transitions to better, socially and ecologically sustainable societies can look. Most recently, I have been focusing on the relationship between class and climate, which is the subject of much controversy in sociology. One focus of my research is the automotive and supplier industry, which is currently at the center of the crisis-ridden upheaval. In this context, I also look at the question of why an above-average number of workers sympathize with radical right-wing formations.
What personal goals or visions drive you in your scientific work?
What personal goals or visions drive you in your scientific work? There is much to suggest that we do not have much time left to set the course towards sustainable societies. That is what drives and motivates me. I favor a mode of sociological knowledge production that my late friend and colleague Michael Burawoy called public sociology. This means leaving the ivory tower of pure science in order to enter into targeted communication with democratic civil society. A
prerequisite for this is open-ended empirical research at a high professional level. We have practiced this in an exemplary manner with managers, the works council and the trade union at the VW plant in Kassel-Baunatal and elsewhere. I would like to build on this.
What characterizes sustainability research at the Kassel Institute for Sustainability?
I think the idea of aligning the University of Kassel's profile with the 17 sustainability goals and bringing sustainability research together in one institute is simply great. This is all the more true as we are currently witnessing a “major rollback” in terms of sustainability. This makes it all the more important to bring together scientists who are not giving up on the search for just transitions to better, sustainable societies. In my view, the Kassel region is a hub of socio-ecological transformation. A lot of things that are negotiated on the world's big stages can be found here on a small scale. I find that downright electrifying, especially as it is my home region.