About us
We offer a lively and collaborative research environment and a strong international research profile. The department, founded in 1954, is especially competitive in the areas of cultural sociology, demography, ethnicity and migration, gender, family sociology, political sociology, social policy regimes, social networks, and social stratification.
Faculty members are highly active in the international research community, by leading and coordinating large-scale national and international research programs, and participating in networks and conferences. We maintain a strong publication record in international peer-review journals with high impact. Several of our researchers are serving on editorial boards of journals.
The master's and PhD programmes offered at the department are taught in English and attract applicants from all over the world. At present we have master and doctoral students but also researchers from at least 15 different countries.
We conduct research in both sociology and demography of high international standard, and are consistently ranked among the top 50 Sociology departments in the world in QS World University Rankings. The Department is home to the Stockholm University Demography Unit (SUDA), an international group of scholars and doctoral students, working on many facets of population dynamics.
Annual Reports
Here you can download Annual Reports from the Department of Sociology from 2017 and onwards:
Annual Report Department of Sociology 2022 (438 Kb)
Annual Report Department of Sociology 2021 (411 Kb)
Annual Report Department of Sociology 2020 (456 Kb)
Annual Report Department of Sociology 2019 (377 Kb)
Annual Report Department of Sociology 2018 (414 Kb)
Annual Report Department of Sociology 2017 (817 Kb)
Open seminars
The Department of Sociology gives four different open seminar series, listed below.
“Open seminar” indicates that it is open for the general public as well as for interested scholars. The seminars are led by specialists within the specific area. Subjects of current interest are treated and the participants are invited to join the discussions and pose questions.
Sociology Seminar
Upcoming open seminars are announced in our calendar
Due to Covid-19, our Sociology Seminars are given online over Zoom. Seminars with external speakers (and some of the seminars with internal speakers) are open to the public.
Please contact the organizers Vanessa Barker or Martin Hällsten if you have any questions.
SUDA Demographic Colloquium Series
Upcoming colloquia are announced in our calendar
Our colloquia are open for the general public and interested scholars
Stockholm Sessions on Migration
Upcoming Stockholm Sessions on Migration are announced here.
The Stockholm Session on Migration is a friendly monthly seminar for all those interested in various aspects of international migration. We meet (possibly) every 2nd Tuesday of the month. Each session takes about one hour, the author(s) has 15 to 20 minutes to present his/her work and the rest will be devoted to discussion.
All welcome!
Anti-Racism Working Group Seminar Series
Upcoming seminars are announced in our calendar
The Anti-Racism Working Group (ARWG) aims to recognize the structures and practices of racism within our field and confront it through the platforming of anti-racist efforts in Sociology and beyond. We invite academics to discuss their recent research with a discussant and join in cordial conversation with our network.
Everyone is welcome. Students are particularly encouraged to attend and participate. For the foreseeable future, all seminars will take place over Zoom. To join our group email list and receive Zoom links please contact Vanessa Barker, vanessa.barker(a)sociology.su.se.
Academic Working Groups
We currently have four active academic working groups, listed below.
Anti-Racism Working Group
More information here and above, under "Anti-Racism Working Group Seminar Series".
Cultural Sociology at Stockholm University
Upcoming seminars are announced in our calendar
Cultural Sociology at Stockholm University generally meets in the Sociology Department (B900) over lunch on the third Wednesday of the month from 12:00 to 1:00.
Cultural Sociology at Stockholm University helps members stay abreast of developments in cultural sociology, improve their own cultural sociological work, and develop networks and collaborations with other cultural sociologists and cultural sociology groups and centers in Sweden and abroad.
The group is open to those who are pursuing or interested in pursuing meaning-centered inquiry in any subject area and using any research method. Since this is a working group, we prefer that participants attend regularly and contribute through active participation.
If it is your first visit to Cultural Sociology at Stockholm University, or to join the group email list, please contact the organizers, Anna Lund, anna.lund(a)sociology.su.se, and Andrea Voyer, andrea.voyer(a)sociology.su.se.
Stockholm University Computational Sociology
Upcoming seminars are announced in our calendar
Stockholm University Computational Sociology is a meeting place for researchers using computational approaches to study social phenomena. The meeting format varies but includes discussions on papers, specific methodological challenges of interest to group members, and current developments and debates in computational sociology.
The group is open to people who use or have an interest in computational approaches in and outside of the Sociology Department. The group generally meets over lunch on the second Wednesday of the month. We meet at B900 with the possibility to join via Zoom.
Anyone is welcome. To join the group email list, please contact the organizers, Andrea Voyer, andrea.voyer@sociology.su.se, and Hernan Mondani, hernan.mondani@sociology.su.se.
The Qualitative Methods Working Group
Upcoming seminars are announced in our calendar
The Qualitative Methods Working Group (QMWG) generally meets in the Sociology Department (B900) over lunch (from 12-1) on the first Wednesday of the month. The group provides a forum for qualitative researchers to discuss their work and developments in qualitative methods. The group is open to qualitative researchers in and outside of the Sociology Department. Since this is a working group, we prefer that participants attend regularly and contribute through active participation in the meetings.
If it is your first visit to QMWG, or to join the group email list, please contact the organizers, Anna Lund, anna.lund(a)sociology.su.se, and Andrea Voyer, andrea.voyer(a)sociology.su.se.
Due to COVID-19, the group will meet both online over zoom and in person (room B900) while social distancing guidelines are in place.
Anyone is welcome, but if it is your first visit to QMWG at Stockholm University, or to join the group email list, please contact the organizers, Anna Lund, anna.lund(a)sociology.su.se, and Andrea Voyer, andrea.voyer(a)sociology.su.se.
Meet some of our professors
Here you can read some interviews with our professors!
Vanessa Barker, professor of Sociology:
“I don’t necessarily view my scholarship as activism, but more as contributing to Public Sociology”
Karin Helmersson Bergmark, professor emerita of Sociology:
"Professor who is problematising the term ‘addiction’"
Magnus Bygren, professor of Sociology:
Sociology professor who wants to turn how academians comunicate their research on its head
Ann-Zofie Duvander, professor of Demography:
“The fundamental goal is to question what we believe to be truths”
Michael Gähler, professor of Sociology:
“It’s important not to fall in love with a given theory or result”
Martin Hällsten, professor of Sociology:
"Research is not truth, but an ongoing conversation"
Arní Sverrisson, professor emeritus of Sociology:
"It´s been a bumpy ride sometimes but I leave without regrets"
Last updated: January 18, 2024
Source: Department of Sociology