Prof. Dr. Jens Beckert

Prof. Dr. Jens Beckert

Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG) 

Research Interests

  • Role of the economy in society, especially based on studies of markets
  • Organizational sociology
  • Wealth inequality and inheritance
  • Sociological theory

Current Work

  • Imagined futures: The role of expectations in economic action
  • Sociology of markets
  • Wealth inequality and inheritance

Vita

Born July 21, 1967, in Frankfurt a.M.

Education and Professional History
since 2005 Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne
since 2020 Member of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Cologne
since 2005 Member of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Cologne
2003–2005 Professor of Sociology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
2003 Habilitation; Venia Legendi in Sociology, Freie Universität Berlin; "Unearned Wealth. A Comparative Sociology of Inheritance Law"
2002–2003 Associate Professor of Sociology, International University Bremen
2001–2002 John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow, Harvard University, Center for European Studies, Cambridge MA
1999–2001 Research Fellow of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Freie Universit Berlin
1996 Dr. phil. in Sociology, Freie Universität Berlin; "Cooperation, Uncertainty, Innovation. Action-theoretic Preconditions for the Explanation of Economic Efficiency"
1994–1995 Visiting Research Fellow Princeton University Department of Sociology NJ
1993–1999 Junior Faculty Member (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter), John F. Kennedy Institute, Freie Universität Berlin
1993 Master of Business Administration (Dipl.-Kfm.), Freie Universität Berlin
1991 M.A. in Sociology, New School for Social Research, New York
1986 Abitur (University Entrance Qualification), Albert Schweitzer Gymnasium, Offenbach a.M.
Selected Honors
2021 Member of the Academia Europaea / The Academy of Europe
2018 "Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz"-Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG)
2010 Appointed member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
2005 Prize of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities - donated by the Commerzbank Foundation -
2000–2005 Appointed Member of the "Junge Akademie" at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
1987 Fellow of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Scholarship Foundation)
Awards for Publications
2018 Karl Polanyi Prize of the Economic Sociology Section of the German Sociological Association (DGS). Award for "Imagined Futures – Fictional Expectations and Capitalist Dynamics" (Harvard University Press, 2016)
2017 Finalist for the George R. Terry Award 2017 of the Academy of Management: Beckert, Jens, 2016: Imagined Futures. Fictional Expectations and Capitalist Dynamics (Cambridge: HUP)
2017 Honorable Mention of Beckert, Jens, 2016: Imagined Futures. Fictional Expectations and Capitalist Dynamics (Cambridge: HUP) for the 2017 Zelizer Award for Best Book in Economic Sociology
2015 2nd Prize of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation for articles in the social sciences of the year 2014 for: Akyel, Dominic/Jens Beckert: Pietät und Profit - Kultureller Wandel und Marktentstehung am Beispiel des Bestattungsmarktes. In: KZfSS 66, 425–444
2008 1st Prize of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation for articles in the social sciences of the year 2007: Beckert, Jens/Mark Lutter: Wer spielt, hat schon verloren? Zur Erklärung des Nachfrageverhaltens auf dem Lottomarkt. In: KZfSS 59, 240–270
2005 Best Law Book of the Year: Jens Beckert "Unverdientes Vermögen". Frankfurt: Campus 2004. In: Neue Juristische Wochenschrift 46/2005
Visiting Appointments
09/2019–05/2020 Theodor-Heuß-Professor, New School for Social Research, New York
09/2018 Fellow, Institut d'Études Avancées (IEA), Paris
09/2015–06/2016 Sciences Po, MaxPo and Centre de Sociologie des Organisations (CSO), Paris
10/2012–06/2013 Fellow, Institut d'Études Avancées (IEA), Paris/France
11/2008–01/2009 Visiting Researcher, Sciences Po, Centre de Sociologie des Organisations (CSO), Paris/France
10/2007–01/2008 Fernand Braudel Fellow, European University Institute, Florence/Italy
04/2007 Luigi Einaudi Chair, Cornell University, New York
09/2001–06/2002 John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow, Harvard University, Center for European Studies, Cambridge, MA
09/1994–06/1995 Visiting Research Fellow, Princeton University, Department of Sociology, Princeton NJ
Editorships
since 2019 Historical Social Research, Consulting Editor
since 2010 European Journal of Sociology, Co-editor
since 2010 Socio-Economic Review, Editorial Board
since 1999 Economic Sociology - European Electronic Newsletter, Editorial Board
since 2006 Geschichte und Gesellschaft. Zeitschrift für Historische Sozialwissenschaft, Editorial Board
since 2007 Reihe Theorie und Gesellschaft (Campus Verlag), Co-editor
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