Social Reproduction between Crisis and Transformation

• Applicant: Dr. Sarah Uhlmann
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 574450351

Multiple crises such as pandemics, wars, inflation, and the climate crisis are disrupting our societies, putting them under pressure to transform. The proposed network focuses on the thesis that at the heart of these processes is social reproduction. This means those relationships and structures that ensure life, such as care work, education, nursing, and housing, and also their ecological foundations. As part of our collaboration, we are examining research into how crises can be explained from the perspective of social reproduction and which transformation processes can be observed. We focus on three areas of work we consider central to current crises, conflicts, and negotiations around transformation: 1) the connection between social reproduction and inequalities, especially in relation to gender, sexuality, and racism; 2) the link between social reproduction and ecology; 3) the significance of the state and civil society for the organization, regulation, and negotiation of social reproduction. The network aims to bring together different perspectives by facilitating interdisciplinary exchange of German scholars from the research fields of sociology, political science, human geography, education, and philosophy who employ approaches of social reproduction. Concrete results of the collaboration include several public events, the conceptualization and joint publication of a handbook on social reproduction, and the design of research projects based on the research gaps identified in previous discussions within the network.

• DFG Programme: Scientific Networks
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Mike Laufenberg