Dr. Katja Schönian

Institute of Sociology
Chair of Sociology with the main focus on technology – labour – society (Prof. Dr. Pfeiffer)
Room11.02.08
Fürther Str. 246 c, Nuremberg Campus of Technology
90429 Nuremberg

• E-Mail: katja.schoenian@fau.de

Sociology at NCT

Even during my bachelor’s studies “Philosophy and cultural reflection” at the University Witten/Herdecke I have focused on organisational sociology. My bachelor’s thesis followed the question of how labour works under the contexts of a cultural diaglog at the Goethe Institute St. Petersburg. This study shows that the management from a distance plays a central role with the cooperation at the institute, especially when looking at the organisational handling of cultural differences.

I did my masters’ “Critical and Creative Analysis” in sociology at the Goldsmiths Colledge in London and there I focused on my second main interest of research. My thesis took at closer look at the presentation of members on the plattform “StudiVZ” and I attested it a regime of visibility, supported and challenged by a contunual updating newsfeed.

After that I did the postgraduate programme “Sociology of social practices” at the Institute of higher studies (IHS) in Vienna. There I conceptualised my dissertation which took a closer look at the introduction and application of a new intranet as part of a company fusion. Leading in my research were practical theories and research in Science & Technology Studies (STS). As part if this tradition the study was oriented at their research design when looking at working practices and settings. Expectations for technology as change agents and the socio-material interaction of the intranet and its users was explored.

Currently I am working as part of the project “Transforming digitally”. This project is taking a closer look at the use of digital inventions for organisational change for stakeholders (employees, leadership, work council).