Anniversary Celebrations at the MPIfG

The MPIfG marked its 40th anniversary this year with a symposium on “Exploring Societies in Transition” on May 15 and 16. The celebrations began on Thursday evening with a lecture by Marion Fourcade (University of California, Berkeley) on how the use of algorithms promotes new forms of social organization and inequality. Guests of honor included Ralf Heinen (City of Cologne), Andrea Kienle (NRW State Ministry of Culture and Science), Christian Doeller (Max Planck Society), and Michael Hüther (German Economic Institute). In their addresses, the speakers paid tribute to the Institute and its importance for the city of Cologne, for North Rhine-Westphalia as a science and research hub, and for application-oriented basic research in the social sciences. The program included lectures by Susanne K. Schmidt (University of Bremen) on European multilevel politics, Akos Rona-Tas (University of California San Diego) on the emergence of economic sociology, Jonas Pontusson (University of Geneva) on growth models and unequal representation, and Leon Wansleben (MPIfG) on the role of institutions in social change. The four speakers reflected on the Institute’s main research directions thus far as well as on perspectives for the future. Accompanying the celebrations was a workshop on “MPIfG Careers in Government Institutions and Foundations,” organized in collaboration with the Society of Friends and Former Associates of the MPIfG, and a poster presentation in which eleven IMPRS-SPCE doctoral researchers shared insights into their dissertation projects.