Fragment No. 26

Patterns of Connection: Society as Woven Cloth

My research focuses on patterns that only become visible when viewed as a whole: how inequality arises, how labour markets are shaped, and how life paths unfold along social structures. I work with data – surveys, figures, variables – that say little on their own but reveal complex social realities when combined. For many years, I have been conducting empirical studies to investigate how social inequalities (e.g. in the labour market) form structural patterns and how long-term trends shape or challenge our coexistence. This work appears in journals such as the European Sociological Review and other international publications and reflects the analytical view that empirical social research takes of society: we ask not only what, but above all why and how behind observed patterns.

In many ways, this epistemic approach reminds me of the projectual principle of CulturalxCollabs – Weaving the Future: Individual threads – in my case data points, in this case carpet fragments – appear insignificant at first glance. But patterns, narratives and relationship patterns emerge in the fabric. Just as I use empirical data to reveal social processes, CulturalxCollabs connects individual stories to collective narratives about cultural exchange and connectedness.

My carpet fragment #26 represents the idea of understanding society as a fabric of relationships. Empirical research, as well as this project, is not only about isolated insights, but about connections: How do education, migration, or social positions influence each other? How do common patterns emerge from individual life courses? In much of my current work, including within institutional research groups such as the Cluster of Excellence Contestations of the Liberal Script, we deal with social inequalities, labour market processes and their effects on individual opportunities for action. A fragmentary view – be it a data set, a piece of carpet or a single life story – can only tell a limited story. Only in context does a pattern become visible. In my daily work, this means that I begin my analysis in my quiet study, formulate initial hypotheses, test models, gather feedback, and revise interpretations until a comprehensible picture emerges. Just as a single diagram is not enough to explain the social dynamics of a society in research, a single fragment is not enough to convey the diversity of human experiences.

But this is precisely where the strength of CulturalxCollabs lies: it is the circular loops between fragment and narrative, between individual experience and global perspective, that reveal a larger pattern. This project thrives on encounters, exchange and the willingness to consider different perspectives as equal parts of a larger whole – a social fabric similar to what I attempt to capture in my empirical studies on life courses and processes of inequality.

Thus, my carpet fragment is not just a piece of fabric, but a symbol of this: society is woven from individual stories, encounters, spaces of experience and collective transitions. Meaning only unfolds in interaction.