Ulrich Beck

Sociologist

• Born: May 15, 1944
• Birthplace: Stolp, Pomerania
• Died: January 1, 2015
• Place of death: Germany

Education: Ludwig Maximilians University

Significance: Ulrich Beck was a German sociologist known for his theories on modernization and globalization. Much of his work focused on the effect rapidly advancing technologies could have on the modern world. Beck also advocated a switch from the predominately nationalistic angles taken in sociological research to a more cosmopolitan approach aimed at recognizing the intersections of modern society. Beck was one of the most well-known sociologists in the world and continues to receive regular mention within the works of other social scientists.

Background

Ulrich Beck was born on May 15, 1944, in what was formerly known as Stolp, Pomerania, and is now the city of Slupsk, Poland. He was the youngest of five siblings and the only boy. His father was a naval officer and his mother was a nurse. Following the end of World War II (1939–1945), his family left Pomerania and settled in Hanover, West Germany, where Beck grew up. Beck enrolled at the University of Freiberg in the late 1960s where he initially studied law. He left Freiburg in 1966 to study sociology, philosophy, psychology and political sciences at Ludwig Maximilians University (LWU) in Munich. His tuition was supplemented by a grant for gifted students. Beck studied under respected German sociologist Karl Martin Bolte and earned a doctorate degree six years later.

Beck worked as a research assistant at the University of Munich before becoming a professor of sociology at the University of Münster in 1979. He remained at Münster until 1981, when he took a position at the University of Bamberg. Beck stayed at Bamberg for more than a decade before returning to LWU as a professor in 1992, where he remained for the rest of his career. During his time at Bamberg, he published Risikogesellschaft (published in English in 1992 as Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity), a critical analysis of technology's effect on society and its potential to destroy humanity. The book propelled him into an international spotlight and such themes became the primary focus of his academic career. Alongside his positon at LWU, Beck was also a visiting professor at a number of institutions between the 1990s and 2010s including the University of Wales, Cardiff; London School of Economics; and the Fondation Maison de Sciences de l'Homme, Paris. Throughout his lifetime, Beck published dozens of books and essays criticizing established notions of modern society.

Life's Work

Beck's career focused on improving how humans understand a world that is continuously changing due to advances in technology—some of which may hinder or harm people and the planet. Such activities include human-caused climate change, increasingly self-sufficient technologies, and the shortcomings of numerous national institutions. Beck was eager to construct a new lens through which these developments could be understood for the good of society. One of his earliest concepts was "reflexive modernization," coined in his book Risk Society. This theory examined the modern world's need for self-awareness in regard to the inadvertent consequences that resulted from the achievements of industrialization. Beck was also eager to point out that such consequences are not always controllable and therefore decisions relating to technological and economic advancement should be made with the this outlook in mind. This approach, according to Beck, is the only way humankind can manage the risks created by such advances. He labeled this conceptual attitude a "risk society."

Beck's work was also known for its discourse on a social ideal termed "cosmopolitanisation." First conceived in his 1997 book Was ist Globalisierung? (What Is Globalization?) and expanded upon in his 2004 book Cosmopolitan Vision, Beck's version of cosmopolitanisation referred not to the mindset of a well-traveled person but to the belief that all human conduct is based on a common morality. Beck suggested the growing emphasis on globalization in society and politics could lead to the replacement of established nationalistic thought patterns—a frame of reference he considered flawed. He worried how a globalized outlook could affect society, however. Beck believed cosmopolitanism and globalization, if left unchecked, could lead to cultural domination and ethnocentricity, or the belief that one cultural group is superior to another. Within Beck's methodology, if the goal is to better understand the world one cannot simply explore it in a different way, one must be willing to explore a different kind of world. The sociologist further developed this theory in his book The Metamorphosis of the World, in which he defined a different world as a "metamorphosed" world, one in which social and political institutions are designed with change in mind.

Beck's last publication released during his lifetime was 2012's Das deutsche Europa (German Europe), a critical analysis of the political actions of German chancellor Angela Merkel. Beck accused Merkel of failing to rise to action during the European debt crisis that began in 2009, which erupted after several European Union members were unable to repay their government debts due to excessive spending. Beck believed Merkel's hesitation, though well-intentioned, was still political scheming and narrow-minded in scope. Despite this, he encouraged German leaders to draw up resolute terms when helping financially reckless nations. In practically all of his works, Beck's views supported a balanced push for globalization throughout the European Union and his colleagues often referred to him as "pro-Europe." Beck's career came to an abrupt end in January 2015 when he suffered a heart attack while driving home from university. His book The Metamorphosis of the World was published posthumously in March 2016.

Impact

Beck's work drew many like-minded scholars to him and he was an admired and well-respected individual among his colleagues and his friends. Throughout his career, Beck coined a number of technical terms that are still regularly used in sociological literature. His efforts to reshape modern perspectives of the world paired with his recognition of the uncontainable nature of social change made Beck's work unique within the European social science community.

Personal Life

Beck met his wife, Elisabeth Gernsheim, while a student in Munich. They had no children.

Principal Works: Books

• Risikogesellschaft (Risk Society) (1986)
• Reflexive Modernization: Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order (1994)
• The Normal Chaos of Love (1995)
• Was ist Globalisierung (What Is Globalization?) (1997)
• Power in the Global Age (2005)
• Cosmopolitan Vision (2006)
• World at Risk (2009)
• Das deutsche Europa (German Europe) (2012)
• The Metamorphosis of the World (2016)

Bibliography

Giddens, Anthony. "Ulrich Beck Obituary." London School of Economics and Political Science, www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/pdf/Ulrich-Beck-obituary-by-Anthony-Giddens.pdf. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

Kaldor, Mary. "Ulrich Beck Obituary." Guardian, 6 Jan. 2015. www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/06/ulrich-beck. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

"Remembering Professor Ulrich Beck." Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Münche, www.en.uni-muenchen.de/news/newsarchiv/2015/beck.html. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

Smale, Alison. "Ulrich Beck, Sociologist Who Warned of Technology, Dies at 70." The New York Times, 4 Jan. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/world/europe/ulrich-beck-sociologist-who-warned-of-dangers-of-technology-is-dead-at-70.html?‗r=0. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

Sørensen, Mads Peter, and Allan Christiansen. Ulrich Beck: An Introduction to the Theory of Second Modernity and the Risk Society. Routledge, 2013.

Vasagar, Jeevan. "Ulrich Beck, Visionary Theorist of Globalisation and Its Risks." Financial Times, 5 Jan. 2015, www.ft.com/content/22960f2c-94fa-11e4-8fc1-00144feabdc0. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.