معرفی
Gallina Tasheva is a Professor at the Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Münster (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster). She has held this position while actively contributing to theoretical sociology, social philosophy, and qualitative research methodology. Since August 2013, she has served as Chair and Advisory Board member of the Research Network 'Social Theory' of the European Sociological Association, and since July 2012, she has been a member of the Editorial Board of the International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences.
Dr. phil. (Sofia), Tasheva studied sociology, political science, economics and philosophy at the universities of Sofia, Moscow, Bielefeld and Bochum. Her academic journey includes research and teaching positions at universities in Sofia, Moscow, Warsaw, Bielefeld, Bochum, Boston, Kassel, Chicago and most recently with a chair for theoretical sociology at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. She also completed advanced training in higher education didactics at the Center for University Teaching at the University of Münster.
Professor Tasheva's research spans social philosophy and social theory, phenomenology, poststructuralism, existential analysis, and methodology of social sciences. She focuses on fundamental ignorance and its consequences for the concept of science, with work in progress including 'Existential Analysis and Sociology,' 'Critique in Times of Contingency,' and 'Fundamental Non-Knowledge: Interdisciplinary Studies.' Her teaching profile includes seminars on theoretical and methodological challenges for humanities, social and cultural sciences facing multiple crises in Europe. She has coordinated the international research network 'Existential Analytics' and organized interdisciplinary conferences on non-knowledge and European identity.
Her recent scholarly work demonstrates a consistent focus on the intersections of phenomenology, existential analysis, and social theory, with particular attention to concepts of being-with (Mitsein), otherness, and fundamental ignorance. Her publications reveal a trajectory from early work on postmodernism and national traditions in sociology to more recent explorations of non-knowledge, public discourse, and the existential foundations of social theory. The thematic evolution shows increasing engagement with questions of contingency, critique, and the epistemological consequences of fundamental ignorance in social science.
- International Sociological Association Prize
- DAAD scholarship at the Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld
- Fulbright Fellowship at Boston University
- DAAD Prize for Foreign Scientists
- Heinrich Hertz Fellowship from the Minister of Science and Research of North Rhine-Westphalia
- Research Grant at the Committee on Social Thought of the University of Chicago
- Fritz Thyssen Foundation Research Grant at Boston University
Professor Tasheva has supervised numerous academic projects and seminars while mentoring students through master's theses and research projects. Her externally funded research includes interdisciplinary projects such as 'Cultural Transformations in Eastern Europe' at the interdisciplinary center for cultural research at the University of Kassel (2006-2009), a long-term study with participatory observation on 'Dealing with Death and Dying' at the Habichtswald Clinic for palliative medicine in Kassel (2007-2009), Volkswagen Foundation's international research project 'Europe amidst Incommensurabilities' (1998-1999), and the EU Tempus Project 'Otherness and Cultural Identity' (1992-1993). Her research demonstrates sustained engagement with both theoretical development and empirical investigation, particularly through qualitative methods and grounded theory.
Professor Tasheva is deeply involved in the academic community through her leadership in the Social Theory Research Network of the European Sociological Association. She has organized significant interdisciplinary conferences including 'Theoretical and Methodological Challenges for Humanities, Social and Cultural Sciences, Facing the Multiple Crises in Europe' (Münster, June 6-8, 2024), 'Principled Ignorance' (Münster, October 29-30, 2021), and the ESA Social Theory Conference on 'The Quest of European Identity' (Münster, November 26-28, 2014). Her work bridges philosophy and sociology, creating a distinctive approach to understanding social phenomena through existential and phenomenological lenses.
