Michael Kitzing M.A.

I studied sociology and have been working since March 2026 as a research associate in subproject D02 (F) “Reflexive Human Differentiation. Sexual and Gendered Self-Problematizations” within the Collaborative Research Center 1482 “Human Differentiation.” There, I investigate how individuals make their belonging to gender-related categories the subject of self-reflection—particularly where seemingly stable assumptions begin to crumble.

At the center of my research is the question of how gender-related affiliations are problematized, altered, or renegotiated—whether actively or in the wake of disruptions that trigger new ways of engaging with one’s own self. I combine this perspective with a theoretical interest in how subjects are formed within the tension between social categorizations, institutional discourses, and their own self-relationships.

Empirically, I work with ethnographic approaches, biographical-narrative interviews, and group discussions in contexts such as peer groups and social media discourses. My focus is on questions of social differentiation as well as constructions of self and identity.