News & Updates 2025

January 2026
Humboldt University of Berlin, January 29, 2026. At a parliamentary evening hosted by the Centre Marc Bloch, politicians François Hollande and Armin Laschet engage with our Director Steffen Mau and CNRS Researcher Isabelle Guinaudeau in a discussion on restoring trust in politics. more

November 2025
On November 7, 2025, the Schader Foundation invited selected partners to the thirteenth Grand Convention. The keynote speech was given by sociologist Prof. Dr. Steffen Mau, member of the Schader Foundation's senate. The lecture was held in German. more

November 2025
DT Stage | November 11, 2025 | 8:00 p.m. Ricarda Lang and Steffen Mau present their new book, Der große Umbruch (The Great Upheaval). A conversation about crises, conflicts, and compromises. more

November 2025
Steffen Mau discussed major societal transformations with Ricarda Lang
As part of the Göttinger Literaturherbst, Steffen Mau, recently appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, appeared in conversation with Green Party politician Ricarda Lang on Saturday, November 2, at 11:15 a.m. at the Sheddachhalle im Sartorius Quartier. more

We are deeply saddened to announce that Professor Matthias Koenig, Max Planck Fellow at our institute from 2011 to 2021, passed away on January 12, 2026, after a serious illness. His death is a great loss to the scholarly community and to all who knew him. more

October 2025
Congratulations to Margherita Cusmano for being awarded the DAAD Prize for outstanding international students. The panel commended her expertise and dedication. more

October 2025
October 26, 2025, 7:00 p.m. | Paulinerkirche. As part of the lecture series "Science at the Göttingen Literaturherbst," Johanna M. Lukate spoke about her latest book Disentangled. Why Black Hair Can't Be Just Hair (Vaternahm, 2025). The subsequent discussion was led by Hannah Pool from the MPI for the Study of Societies.
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October 2025
On the death of Claus Offe. Claus Offe shaped the social sciences with his astute analyses and socially critical perspectives. As someone who crossed boundaries between sociology and political science, his work remains groundbreaking. (In German) By Steffen Mau and Michael Zürn. • FAZ, October 3, 2025 more

In the MPI-MMG in Dialogue series on May 20, 2025, Alexander Kustov, Marc Helbling and Karen Schönwälder discussed how immigration can be made popular. The event was moderated by Ulrike Bialas. more

May 2025
In the NDR Synapsen podcast episode Migration in Germany: Research instead of Prejudice (39:54) from May 9, Steven Vertovec talks to Yasmin Appelhans about the many causes of migration.  more

April 2025
On April 29, Amanda Lubit presented her new book “Life as a Migrant Muslim Woman in Sectarian Northern Ireland: An Exploration of Gender, Visibility, Movement and Place”. This book launch was a collaboration with the Centre for Global Migration Studies (CeMig). more