| 2023 |
George Sarton Medal, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Gent University, Belgium; Sarton Lecture "Sociology in the System of Scientific Disciplines", April 20, 2023. |
| 2021- |
Member Advisory Board "Hamburg Institute of Advanced Studies" |
| 2021 |
Niklas Luhmann Distinguished Visiting Chair in Social Theory, Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld (October to December). |
| 2020 - |
Group Member, Lise Meitner Research Group, "China in the Global System of Science", Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science, Berlin |
| 2020 - |
Senior Professor Sociology "Forum Internationale Wissenschaft" and "Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies". Director Department "Comparative Research on Democracies", FIW. |
| 2018 - 2025 |
Principal Investigator in the Excellence Cluster "Beyond Freedom and Slavery. Asymmetrical Dependencies in Premodern Societies" and Member of "Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies", University of Bonn |
| 2017- |
Member of "Leopoldina. National Academy of Sciences" |
| 2017 |
Visiting Professor at Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Winter Quarter |
| 2014 - |
Member of the North-Rhine Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts |
| 2012 - 2020 |
Dahrendorf Professor for "Theory of Modern Society" at the University of Bonn and Director of the "Forum Internationale Wissenschaft", Bonn |
| 2012 - |
Permanent visiting professor at the Faculty for Cultural and Social Sciences at the University of Lucerne |
| 2011 |
Visiting Professor at the Department of German, Princeton University, Princeton N.J., USA (February - June) |
| 2011 |
"Alexander-von-Humboldt-Lecturer" at the Department of Human Geography, Radboud-University Nijmegen, Netherlands (January) |
| 2007 and 2009 |
Visiting professor at the "Faculty for interdisciplinary Research and Continuing Education" at the University of Klagenfurt in Vienna |
| 2006 – 2010 |
Rector of the University of Lucerne |
| 2005 – 2006 |
Fellow at the "Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin" |
| 2003 – 2012 |
Professor for "Sociological Theory and General Sociology" at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland |
| 2002 – 2003 |
Executive director of the "International Graduate School in Sociology", University of Bielefeld, Faculty of Sociology |
| 2002 – 2003 |
Speaker of postgraduate program (Graduiertenkolleg) "Weltbegriffe und globale Strukturmuster. Ausdifferenzierung und funktionale Diversifikation der Weltgesellschaft" (World Concepts and Global Structural Patterns. Differentiation and Functional Diversification of the World Society), University of Bielefeld |
| 2001 – 2002 |
Visiting professor at the Institute for Sociology at the University of Vienna (October – January) |
| 2000 – 2003 |
Executive director of the "Institute of World Society of the University of Bielefeld" |
| 2000 |
"Professeur invité" at the "École des hautes études en sciences sociales", Paris (February - March) |
| 2000 - |
Member « Arbeitskreis für moderne Sozialgeschichte » |
| 1999 – 2001 |
Dean at the Faculty of Sociology at the University of Bielefeld |
| 1996 – 2001 |
Member "Werner Reimers Konferenzen – Suchprozesse für innovative Fragestellungen in der Wissenschaft". Werner Reimers Stiftung, Bad Homburg. |
| 1994 – |
Editor of the journal "Soziale Systeme. Zeitschrift für soziologische Theorie". |
| 1994 – 2003 |
Professor for "Sociological Theory and General Sociology" (C4) at the University of Bielefeld |
| 1993 |
Call for a chair for "Comparative Cultural Sociology" (C4) at "Europa-University Viadrina", Frankfurt/O., teaching as deputy in Frankfurt O. 1993/94, call rejected in 1994. |
| 1991 |
Deputy of a chair for sociology at the University of Mannheim |
| 1990 |
Habilitation at the Faculty for Sociology at the University of Bielefeld |
| 1989 – 1994 |
Research fellow at the "Max-Planck-Institute for the History of European Law", Frankfurt/M. |
| 1987 |
Research fellow at the "Maison des Sciences de l'Homme", Paris |
| 1985 – 1989 |
Research fellow at the "Max-Planck-Institute for the Study of Societies", Cologne |
| 1984 – 1986 |
Research fellow at the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, Cologne |
| 1978 – 1983 |
Research for Dissertation; Doctorate (Dr. rer. soc.) at the University of Bielefeld |
| 1973 – 1977 |
Studies of sociology and philosophy at the University of Bielefeld; diploma degree in sociology |
| 1972 – 1973 |
Studies of sociology and philosophy at the FU Berlin |
| 1971 |
Member of the "Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes" |
| 1970 – 1972 |
Community service at the "Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Eben-Ezer" (Lemgo) and at the "Kreiskrankenhaus Detmold" |
| 1958 – 1970 |
Primary School and Gymnasium in Lemgo/Lippe |
| 1951 |
Born in Lemgo/Lippe, Germany |