Sophie Mützel

Sophie Mützel serves as Professor of Sociology with a focus on media and networks at the University of Lucerne's Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences. She heads the MA program "Media and Networks," co-initiates the MA Computational Social Sciences (LuMACCS), and acts as seminar leader in the Department of Sociology. From August 2019 to July 2023, she held the position of Vice Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Her academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Sociology, Columbia University
• M.A. in Sociology, Cornell University
• B.A. in Political Science, UC Berkeley

Dr. Mützel's research spans Economic Sociology, Cultural Sociology, Computational Text Analysis, Digital Sociology, Social Network Analysis, and Sociological Theory. Her work examines narrative construction in market emergence, as demonstrated in her 2022 Stanford University Press book "Making Sense: Markets from Stories in New Breast Cancer Therapeutics," and investigates digital transformation through computational methods. She integrates theoretical frameworks with empirical analysis of digital phenomena, particularly in payment systems and big data applications.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Jean Monnet Fellowship at the European University Institute, Florence

She currently leads the SNSF-funded project "Digital payments: Making payments personal and social" and previously directed the SNSF/NFP75 project "Facing Big Data: Methods and skills needed for a 21st century sociology," completed in April 2021. Her research bridges classical sociological theory with contemporary digital methodologies, emphasizing the cultural dimensions of technological change.

Dr. Mützel contributes to academic leadership through program development and interdisciplinary collaboration within the Department of Sociology, fostering connections between computational methods and traditional sociological inquiry.