Dr Norbert Ebert
Associate Lecturer
Contact Details
Office: C3B/309Phone: (61 2) 9850 8980
Fax No: (61 2) 9850 9355
Email: Norbert.Ebert@scmp.mq.edu.au
Profile
Before I got into sociology, I worked in the corporate sector as a management assistant. Over time I got more curious about the consequences of work on social relationships. It is this curiosity that brought me to sociology which since then I have found a very enriching experience. But I did not totally give up on business administration. While I was doing my Masters in Sociology, Philosophy and Business Administration at the Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany, I was working in a global corporation in various positions. After that I decided to come to Australia and study at the University of New South Wales, where I also received my PhD in 2007. After that I started to work as an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Macquarie University.
Key interests
I try to anchor my sociological approach in individuals' everyday experiences. Thus, while I have a strong interest in social theory, I am equally concerned with empirical research. My current research focus is on individualisation, work society and work-organisation, social differentiation, recognition and integration. Key thinkers I am interested in are Habermas, Honneth, Beck, Sennett, Luckmann, Arendt
Current Research Agenda
I am currently working on a number of projects that approach individualisation from various angles. My goal is to develop a theoretically more informed and differentiated understanding of individualisation. I am simultaneously trying to demonstrate empirically what individualisation mean in practical terms at the workplace but also in society generally. I base these projects on interviews with managers from internationally operating corporations.
Publications
Book
2003, Identität aus dem Nichts: Überlegungen zu Schopenhauer, Nietzsche und Scheler, (translation: Identity from Nothingness. Reflections on Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Scheler), BoD, Norderstedt
Book Review
2007, Book Review: The Struggle Over Work: The 'End of Work' and Employment Alternatives for Post-Industrial Societies, in Thesis Eleven, 88(1), pp. 132 - 136. 2007, Book Review: The Culture of the New Capitalism, Richard Sennett, in Journal of Sociology 2007; 43; 440 - 442