My research and teaching focus on general sociology and sociological theory. I am particularly interested in how, on the one hand, conceptualisation and theoretical work, and on the other, contemporary changes in society as a whole, mutually influence one another. Examining sociological descriptions of society – particularly sociological theories within their historical context – sharpens our understanding of their key concepts and, at the same time, helps us to assess the position of sociology under changing social conditions.

My main areas of focus include:

• Sociological theories, particularly theories of society
• History of sociology and the social sciences
• Sociology of knowledge
• Historical sociology
• History of science, concepts and ideas

Monographs

Meyhöfer, Frank (forthcoming late 2026): World Diagnoses. Social Theories between Academia and the Public Sphere, 1820–1920. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

Eldracher, Martin/Meyhöfer, Frank (2023): Thinking Sociologically with Jacques Derrida. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

Ley,Thomas/Meyhöfer, Frank (2016): The Sociology of Conflict: An Introduction. Hamburg: Kovac.

Edited volumes

Since 2026, co-editor of the book series Philosophical Foundations of Sociology at Springer VS (together with Peter Gostmann) [Link].

Meyhöfer, Frank/ Schiffl, Benjamin/ Winkelhaus, Jan (eds.) (2023): The Culture of Sociology. Yearbook of the History of Sociology. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

Lahm, Swantje/ Meyhöfer, Frank/ Neumann, Friederike (eds.) (2021): Approaches to Teaching Writing at Universities. Case Studies and Reflections on Teaching and Learning to Write. Bielefeld: wbv.

Articles in academic journals (* = peer-reviewed)

*Meyhöfer, Frank (2025): Diagnoses of the present. Current sociological research on a controversial genre of sociology, in: Soziologische Revue 48 (3), pp. 237–264. DOI: 10.1515/srsr-2025-2017.

Meyhöfer, Frank/ Werron, Tobias (2022): Diagnoses of the present. A public genre of sociology, in: Mittelweg 36 31 (2), pp. 17–38.

*Bien, Kevin/ Meyhöfer, Frank/ Tariq, Zara (2017): Written exams as a subject for writing consultancy – strategies and methods, in: JoSch. Journal of Writing Studies 13, pp. 25–30.

*Meyhöfer, Frank (2016): Writing consultancy as a profession? An attempt at positioning based on action logic, in:JoSch. Journal of Writing Studies 11, pp. 7–15.

Research and event reports

Fichtner, Stephan/ Meyhöfer, Frank (2023): Duration in Flux. Report on the annual conference of the Working Group on Historical Sociology of the DGS Section on Cultural Sociology on 5 and 6 October 2023 in Berlin, in: Soziopolis (Link).

Meyhöfer, Frank (2018): Towards a common understanding of the desirable functions in higher education: centralised support for teaching, learning, research and writing. Report of the Short-Term Scientific Mission, COST Action 15221. Maynooth: COST Action 15221 (Link).

What are sociological analyses of the present – and what does sociology know about the production and reception of this genre? Lecture for the research colloquium of the Department of General Sociology, 16 June 2026, University of Osnabrück.

Sociological diagnoses of the present – one disciplinary genre, two histories? Lecture for the Institute Colloquium of the Institute of Social Sciences, 8 April 2026, University of Oldenburg.

Diagnoses of the present: Grand descriptions of society and their multiple audiences. Lecture for the workshop ‘Microscopic Research on Grand Social Concepts – Crisis , Protest, and Transformation’, 23 November 2023, Fulda University of Applied Sciences.

World Diagnoses. How can and to what end should we historicise a genre of sociology? Presentation at the research workshop of the ‘Sociology of the Mind’ research group, 18 February 2023, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.

Images of Japan as perceived by others and by the Japanese themselves in the social sciences. Polarisation and dialogicity in discourses on modernisation, 1910–1960 (with Benjamin Schiffl). Presentation at the 41st Congress of the German Sociological Association, 29 September 2022, Bielefeld University.

Japan and the global challenge of modernity. Constellations of social-scientific discourses on modernity in the 20th century (with Benjamin Schiffl). Paper presented at the follow-up workshop ‘Global Challenges in World Politics: Discourses, Actors and Outcomes’, 6 September 2022, Bielefeld University.

Japan and the challenge of global modernity (with Benjamin Schiffl). Paper presented at the workshop ‘Global Challenges in World Politics: Discourses, Actors and Outcomes’, 13 December 2021, Bielefeld University.

The social production of contemporary diagnoses – a sociological perspective on a sociological publication genre (with Tobias Werron). Presentation at the ‘Theorising’ workshop, 23 October 2021, University of the German Armed Forces, Munich.

Socrates as the First Peer Tutor (with Dainel Bellah and Leonardo Dalessandro). Presentation at the 11th Peer Writing Tutors’ Conference, 27 September 2018, Nuremberg University of Applied Sciences.

The epistemic functionality of crisis: the example of Reinhart Koselleck’s *Crisis of Modernity*. Presentation at the ‘Critiques of Crisis’ conference, 29 June 2018, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.

Positions between teaching and learning. Former peer tutors report on their experiences (with Leonardo Dalessandro). Presentation at the 10th Writing Peer Tutors’ Conference, 30 September 2017, University of Cologne.

Theory-based writing in tutorials (with Nadja Sennewald). Presentation as part of the ‘Lehrlabor’ series of events, 26 April 2017, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.