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Professur Soziologie mit Schwerpunkt Arbeit, Wirtschaft und Organisation
Teaching
Professur Soziologie mit Schwerpunkt Arbeit, Wirtschaft und Organisation 

Lectures

You can find all information about the courses of the professorship in the central course catalogue of Chemnitz University of Technology and in the catalogue on OPAL. Please enrol in the courses on OPAL.

If you have any questions or problems, please contact us by e-mail.

The courses of the professorship begin in the 42nd calendar week.

V: Einführung in die Arbeits- und Organisationssoziologie from Prof. Dr. Tanja Carstensen

S: Aktuelle Entwicklungen from Prof. Dr. Tanja Carstensen
S: Organisation und Management digitaler Arbeit from Prof. Dr. Tanja Carstensen

S: Geschlechtersoziologie from Luzia Schmittmann

Ü: Arbeits- und Organisationssoziologie from Dr. Oliver Thünken

 

M. Sc. Digital Work

All information about the M. Sc. Digital Work can be found here.

If you have any questions about the Master's programme in Digital Work, please contact the head of the professorship. Further counselling services of the Institute of Sociology can be found here.

We have set up a new e-mail distribution list for all students on the Master's in Digital Work in order to improve communication within the degree programme. The mailing list is intended to be accessible to students and lecturers and is therefore designed to be open. It can be used for questions about course content or study organisation, but also to pass on information from lecturers to students. To register, please send an e-mail to the secretariat of the Chair of Sociology with a focus on Work, Economics and Organisation or the Junior Professorship of Sociology of Technology. E-mails that you wish to send via the mailing list should be addressed to digitale-arbeit-info@lists.tu-chemnitz.de.

 

Exams and Bachelor/Master thesis

  • Preparation of 3 topics of your choice (from seminar and exercise, i.e. at least one topic must be chosen from each of the two courses)
    Basis: compulsory and advanced texts
  • Preparation of a 1-page paper on the 3 topics with key statements and discussion points
  • Examination procedure: short inputs on the topics (based on the paper), follow-up questions and open discussion 
The purpose of written assignments is for you to analyse a subject in detail from a sociological/scientific perspective. To do this, it is essential that you engage intensively with academic, especially sociological literature, i.e. with sociological theories and concepts, research results, perspectives and arguments, which you familiarise yourself with, critically examine and use for your argumentation. 
It is essential to observe the formal rules that apply to academic work (in particular appropriate and correct citation). 
It is just as important that you argue thoroughly and in a structured manner, do not make sweeping, hasty judgements or implicitly take facts for granted. 
A written paper always contains an introduction, sections in which the chosen sociological perspective on the topic is justified, the theoretical approach to the topic is explained, sections in which an overview of the state of research is given (what has science already worked out on the topic?), if necessary, further relevant information on the topic and context. In the case of empirical research, the design, methodology and methods, data and results must be presented. Finally, interpretations, discussions, references to possible limitations and an outlook are provided. 
Please also ensure that you use appropriate scientific language. 
Please also note the assessment criteria for academic term papers (last page of the format template), which transparently set out the criteria according to which the lecturer will assess your work.

If you are considering writing your thesis (Bachelor's or Master's thesis) in our department, you are very welcome! 
We are happy to supervise theses on issues of (paid and unpaid) work, organisation and economics. We also welcome topics on gender sociology, digitalisation research or qualitative research methods. 
Please feel free to contact us if your topic idea lies outside these areas.

About the process
Please contact us in good time. For consultation appointments, please contact the person you would like to speak to directly by e-mail.

Choice of topic
You choose your topic independently; details will be clarified during the consultation hours with the supervisor and the accompanying colloquium. Please bring a brief outline to the first consultation session (What topic am I interested in? What literature would I like to work with? Am I planning an empirical paper (with data I have collected myself) or a theoretical paper?) 
You are also welcome to ask for suggestions for topics.

Exposé
A short synopsis (approx. 3 pages), which you agree with your supervisor, is a prerequisite for submitting your thesis to the ZPA. The synopsis is also the basis for your presentation in the colloquium. It contains the following information: Working title, outline of the research question, sociological relevance, planned approach, preliminary outline and literature base. In the case of empirical work, also: research design, methodology, survey instruments, data, field access, evaluation method, intended type of results.

Registration
Take care of the registration of the work with the ZPA and the required signature of the supervisor. Please note that a second supervisor is also required.

Colloquium
To accompany your thesis, you will attend the colloquium organised by the professorship. Here you present your topic and the planned structure of your thesis once (25-30 min.). 
The colloquium serves to prepare and accompany your thesis. It deals with issues such as finding a topic, developing a suitable research question, structuring and organising the thesis, developing a research design, selecting survey and analysis methods and presenting the empirical results. Topics such as literature search and management, writing as a practice and dealing with writer's block as well as work organisation and time management are also covered. The principles of scientific work are repeated (citation styles etc.) and topics such as AI and plagiarism are discussed. If required, individual empirical methods are dealt with in depth; there is also the opportunity to bring in your own empirical material for joint evaluation/interpretation.

Scope and processing time 

  • Bachelor's thesis ‘Sociology’: 30 to 40 pages, processing time 9 weeks
  • Master's thesis ‘Digital Work’: approx. 80 to 120 pages, processing time 20 weeks
  • Master's thesis ‘Sociology’: approx. 80 to 120 pages, completion time 23 weeks

The page numbers refer to the format template: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/hsw/soziologie/Studium/download/vorlage-wiss-arbeiten.doc
Please also note the general information on written theses (see above).

Aim of the BA thesis (see also examination regulations)
With your thesis, you will demonstrate that you are able to independently conceptualise a sociological thesis and develop a limited sociological question, work on it empirically and/or theoretically and write it up. You will learn to familiarise yourself independently with a scientific topic or subject-specific problem and to work on a scientific task using scientific methods within a specified period of time. 

Objective MA thesis ‘Digital Work’ (see also examination regulations)
Independent scientific work on a limited topic with explicit reference to digital work using empirical and/or theoretical methods of sociology and their presentation in a scientific text. You show that you are able to work on a limited problem in the subject area using scientific methods of sociology within a specified period of time and to critically reflect on, discuss and defend the approach and results of the work.

Submission
The thesis must be submitted to the Central Examination Office in duplicate and in an electronic version by the deadline. This can be done in person or by post. Please note that the time of receipt at Chemnitz University of Technology is decisive for meeting the deadline. Do not forget: Declaration of independence

Defence 30-minute oral examination (MA)
In the MA ‘Digital Work’, an oral defence of the Master's thesis is required in addition to the written examination. The requirement of the examination regulations §26, para. 4 is that you explain the basic argumentation of the thesis. Once the thesis has been checked, the first examiner will usually arrange a 30-minute appointment with you. The purpose of the meeting is to have a constructive discussion about the thesis and the process of writing it. This is also an opportunity to talk about the assessment of the thesis and how it came about. You will spend 15 minutes presenting the main content of your work. It is up to you whether you create a presentation, a handout or similar. The examiners will then ask you questions about your work in the remaining 15 minutes. You will receive the report some time before the defence so that you have the opportunity to take up comments from it in your defence.

https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/zpa/hinweise/allgemein/abschlussarbeit.php
https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/hsw/soziologie/Studium/formale_richtlinien.php
Leuze, Kathrin/Unger, Hella von (2015): Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten im Soziologiestudium, Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink