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Paul Axel is a Full Professor at the University of Basel, specializing in General Sociology. His research focuses on fundamental categories of sociological analysis such as social action and social norms, classical and contemporary sociological theories, and the history of the discipline. He emphasizes the importance of culture in shaping human interactions, which he views not merely as a societal sector alongside politics, economy, or law, but as a unique societal response to universal challenges like power distribution and conflict resolution. Axel advocates for a historically and interculturally comparative methodology to understand social order and the structural characteristics of societies. He aims to prepare students to interpret and assess present-day societal conditions through a historical-cultural comparative lens. This includes fostering sensitivity toward long-term societal developments that may not be captured by purely contemporary or problem-oriented social research.
The University of Basel generally requires C1 level proficiency in the language of instruction. For most English-taught Masters, TOEFL (min 92-95) or IELTS (min 7.0) is the standard.