Margherita Cusmano
@margheritacusmano.bsky.social
Research fellow at Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science | Sociology | Mixed Methods enthusiast | Researching migrants’ perceptions of economic #inequality
Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Margherita Cusmano, die an unserer Uni in #Soziologie promoviert wurde, erhielt für ihre Dissertation einen Preis der #KörberStiftung. Sie untersuchte, wie Zugewanderte die ökonomische Ungleichheit in Deutschland wahrnehmen: s.gwdg.de/XsN29F @margheritacusmano.bsky.social
🎉 I could not be happier that my dissertation on migrants’ views on inequality has been awarded a 2nd prize in the Social Sciences section of the Deutscher Studienpreis!
Our postdoc @margheritacusmano.bsky.social has been shortlisted for the Deutscher Studienpreis 2026 (Körber-Stiftung) - 30 nominees from 859 submissions. Her dissertation, "The German Dream: Economic Inequality through the Eyes of Migrants," asks how migrants perceive inequality & fairness.
30 Promovierte für den Deutschen Studienpreis 2026 nominiert
Jury wählt Shortlist aus 859 Einreichungen aus
koerber-stiftung.de
Many assume that migrants are drawn to Germany by its welfare benefits. A new open access study by our postdoc @margheritacusmano.bsky.social complicates that. Many valued the safety net most for simply being there, even those who'll likely never need it. Not just the good life, but the good society
Germany as a ‘social state’: post-migration geographical imaginaries as visions of the good society
Migration research increasingly examines geographical imaginaries but typically treats them as pre-migration constructs that collide with post-migration realities and subsequently dissolve. This ar...
tandfonline.com
New article out! We rethink ‘meritocracy’ not as a fixed belief but as practical, embodied knowledge transformed through experiences of social and geographical mobility onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 1/6
Meritocracy, Recognition and Double Consciousness: Why Black and Muslim Italians Move to (and Sometimes Leave) Post‐Brexit Britain
This article rethinks meritocratic ideology as practical knowledge that transforms through biographies of social and geographical mobility. Drawing on 37 interviews with Black and Muslim Italians liv....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
I am excited to share that my dissertation has been nominated for the Deutscher Studienpreis by the @koerber-stiftung.de 🎉 🔗 Official press release here: lnkd.in/dWXNTD7K 👇 Shortlisted candidates in the Social Sciences section #DeutscherStudienpreis #KörberStiftung #gesellschaftbessermachen
Why do our societies seem so deeply divided when most citizens actually occupy a broad political middle ground? @steffenmau.bsky.social, @thomaslux.bsky.social & @lwestheuser.bsky.social unpack this paradox in Trigger Points, pub. today @brisunipress.bsky.social, Foreward @mikesavagelse.bsky.social
Trigger Points
Trigger Points - Inequality and Political Polarization in Contemporary Society; Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Is society really polarized? This book explores key conflicts...
bristoluniversitypress.co.uk
📢 New OA paper in JEMS @scmrjems.bsky.social We assume migrants evaluate destination countries in terms of jobs and opportunities. But many migrants in my study valued something else: living in a society where those who fall on hard times are not left behind. 🔓 doi.org/10.1080/1369...
Is Germany's middle class eroding? In this piece, 3 experts give a differentiated answer, among them our director @steffenmau.bsky.social. He warns that faith in progress has faded: under 10% think the next generation will fare better. He points to 'clear fault lines' that could deepen polarization
Erosion der Mitte: Experten über Wege aus der Verunsicherung
Viele Deutsche fürchten sozialen Abstieg und Spaltung. Forscher erklären die Ursachen – und zeigen, wie Politik und Bürger gegensteuern können.
focus.de
We launched our Open Lectures Series 2026 with a fascinating talk by John Levi Martin (U Chicago, editor of AJS), on the Weimar Reichstag – revealing a 2D political field that left–right alone can't capture. Based on work with Benjamin Rohr (Uni Mannheim) #OpenLectures2026 #Sociology #WeimarRepublic
Artikel mit @julianheide.bsky.social und @thomaslux.bsky.social (1) Ostdeutsche gelten als besonders unzufrieden mit der Demokratie, migrationsfeindlich, rechtspopulistisch. Oft werden diese Orientierungen durch Sozialisationseffekte des DDR-Systems erklärt www.degruyterbrill.com/de/document/...
Der lange Schatten der DDR? Zum Zusammenhang von ehemaliger Systemnähe und aktuellen politischen Orientierungen von Ostdeutschen
Zusammenfassung Ostdeutsche gelten als besonders unzufrieden mit der Demokratie, migrationsfeindlich und dem Rechtspopulismus zugeneigt. Oft werden diese Orientierungen durch Sozialisationseffekte des...
degruyterbrill.com
Gehen kulturelle Lebensführungen mit polarisierten politischen Einstellungen einher, wie oft behauptet wird (etwa von Goodhart & Reckwitz)? Die FAZ bespricht einen Aufsatz, in dem ich das zusammen mit @steffenmau.bsky.social & @lwestheuser.bsky.social geprüft habe www.faz.net/aktuell/wiss...
Neue Studie hinterfragt die Zweiteilung der Gesellschaft
Deutschland zerfällt nicht in zwei Lager, sondern in neun. Eine neue Studie zeigt komplexe Konfliktlinien und hinterfragt die Spaltungsthese.
faz.net
📚 New publication! Sören Petermann, Karen Schönwälder, Eloisa Harris and I explored how people characterize those around them, and what this reveals about attitudes toward migration and diversity. Read the full paper here: inlibra.com/de/document/...
At @taz.de lab 2026, our director @steffenmau.bsky.social Mau joined sociologist @nilskumkar.bsky.social for a discussion moderated by @janfeddersen.bsky.social on polarization & public discourse. Conflict is amplified by media logic, while broad areas of agreement go largely unnoticed.
Wir machen am 26. Juni eine öffentliche Veranstaltung und bringen die Sozialwissenschaften ins Gespräch; im Garten unseres Max-Planck-Instituts für Politik- und Sozialwissenschaft in Göttingen @mpips.bsky.social
The Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science@mpips.bsky.social · 4mo agoA new space for conversation: Gegenwartslese brings together social science, literature & the public. Join us on June 26 in Göttingen: with @steffenmau.bsky.social, @mafaalani.bsky.social & Julia Friedrichs. Register in advance, details below in the flyer. Supported by @kohli-sociology.bsky.social
Great kick-off meeting for the Department of Inequality, Transformation & Conflict - an ambitious research agenda led by @steffenmau.bsky.social focused around 4 key themes: Social Change & Transformation, Inequality & Social Structure, Social & Political Conflict &Migration & Borders www.ips.mpg.de
🚨 New Open Access publication In my new paper in Social Justice Research, I explore how migration experiences—and crucially, when migration happens—shape attitudes toward distributive justice. 📖 Read the full (open access) paper here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
I've always shied away from social media – but current times have changed this. The categories shaping our lives are being challenged rapidly & profoundly. That's why I've launched FoD: to explore where these trends are leading.The future of difference isn't predetermined - join the conversation
Futures of Difference | Substack
Futures of Difference explores how social categories — race, gender, migration — are transforming. Essays & conversations with 30+ leading scholars. A scholarly platform from the Max Planck Institute,...
futuresofdifference.substack.com
We are hiring! The Department of Inequality, Transformation and Conflict under @steffenmau.bsky.social is looking for Postdoctoral & Doctoral Researchers (m/f/d). Find out more & apply via www.ips.mpg.de #MaxPlanck #Postdoc #PhD #Sociology #SocialScience #PoliticalScience #Inequality #Conflict
1/ Does growing up poor always lead to political apathy? Very happy to share my first paper published (open access) in @electoralstudies.bsky.social, where I show that parents' influence mitigates the poverty gap in participation, while economic mobility does not. 🔗 shorturl.at/p5Bac
FAZ politics editor Lukas Fuhr reads 'Der große Umbruch' as a political book that avoids quick fixes & campaign rhetoric. Instead, @ricardalang.bsky.social & @steffenmau.bsky.social take a diagnostic, reflective look at how deep social & economic transformations challenge democratic politics today.
Dem Soziologen sei Dank!
Die frühere Grünen-Chefin Lang und Steffen Mau trauen sich, grundsätzlich zu werden.
faz.net
Congratulations to @margheritacusmano.bsky.social on receiving a @daadworldwide.bsky.social Prize for outstanding international students at @uni-goettingen.de! Her dissertation focussed on migrants’ views of inequality. Beyond that she builds community through networks, refugee work & peer support.
Last month, I defended my dissertation summa cum laude 🎓 A huge thanks to the members of my thesis committee, Prof. Karen Schönwälder, Prof. Silke Hans, and Prof. Patrick Sachweh, as well as to my colleagues, friends, family, and my partner. Stay tuned for the book publication! 📖
Ich freue mich sehr darauf!
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft@maxplanck.de · 10mo agoHerzlich willkommen, Steffen Mau! 👏 Der Soziologe wird als Direktor am Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung multireligiöser und multiethnischer Gesellschaften in Göttingen und unsere Forschung zu #Ungleichheit und Konflikten ausbauen. @steffenmau.bsky.social @mpimmg.bsky.social
The course on Multifactorial Survey Experiments at the GESIS Spring Seminar on Experimental Designs has come to an end—and I already miss the people, the vibe, and Cologne in the springtime! ☀️ Already looking forward to the next GESIS event!
Open call for Special Issues in Comparative Migration Studies. The journal welcomes proposals on timely topics concerning research in migration, integration, and race and ethnic relations. Deadline for submitting proposals: 31 December 2024. www.imiscoe.org/news-and-blo...
Open call for special issues - Comparative Migration Studies - IMISCOE
IMISCOE is the largest European network of scholars in the area of migration and integration. The focus is on comparative research and joint research projects.
imiscoe.org
Join our next In Dialogue panel discussion that will explore & compare the challenges of retaining, rather than simply recruiting, highly skilled migrants in ageing societies. The event is hybrid & will take place on 🗓️December 18, 2024 from 14:30 – 16:00 CET. Find the details here: shorturl.at/J9DYn
