About Me
My name is Manuel Dieterich and I am a sociologist. I am interested in social processes, social relations and in general the sociologic of human coexistence. I try to get to the bottom of this with qualitative methods, mainly as an ethnographer trained in Grounded Theory. In my research I have been addressing a variety of topics, such as diversity and social inequality, the interplay of threat dynamics and coexistence, migration and flight, moralizations and polarizations, cities and neighborhood relations, as well as social conflicts, critique and justification.
Currently, I am working as a researcher and PhD student at the Collaborative Research Center 923 Threatened Orders (SFB 923 Bedrohte Ordnungen) at the University of Tübingen. My dissertation project focuses on the dynamics and changes in neighborhood group relations due to threat communication in two unequal and diverse neighborhoods in Johannesburg.
At the University of Tübingen, I am a member of the interdisciplinary research network UnKUT . Within this framework, we regularly discuss our current research and publications across disciplines and organize various events, such as lectures, discussions, or retreats. In addition, as part of Kritische Uni Tübingen (KUT), I have already co-organized numerous talks and self-organized reading groups.
From November 2019 - September 2020, I was a visiting scholar at ACMS (African Center for Migration and Society) and at the School of Geography, Archeology and Environmental Studies, both at Wits University in Johannesburg. I had to interrupt my concurrent field research in Johannesburg due to the Corona pandemic. From February to April 2021 I was able to continue the paused fieldwork and was a visiting scholar at the Centre for Diversity Studies, also at Wits University. I am also a member of the German Sociological Association (DGS) since 2020 and a member of the International Sociological Association (ISA) since 2022 (RC03 - Community Research & RC31 - Sociology of Migration).
