Professor Dr. Matthias Leanza

Biography

Matthias Leanza is a Professor at the University of Basel, specializing in sociology and historical sociology. He is recognized for his influential work on social sciences, particularly in the context of decolonization following World War II. Leanza's research probes the concepts of social and political modernization, contributing to an understanding of the post-imperial world and the establishment of the sovereign nation-state as a global norm. After completing his undergraduate studies in sociology at Bielefeld University, he earned his Ph.D. from Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, with a dissertation focused on predictive future construction. His contributions to academia have been acknowledged with the Erasmus Prize for Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2017. He has also completed a habilitation thesis at the University of Basel, analyzing the structural effects of colonial rule through the lens of the German colonial empire. His research underscores the critical role of empires and colonialism in advancing social theory, and he actively organizes conferences within the German Sociological Association. Leanza has held fellowships at notable institutions, including the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia, and is currently engaged with the Käte Hamburger Research Center for the global dis:connect at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. For a complete list of his publications, refer to his CV.

Research Interests

Experience