Tina Spies

Prof. Dr. Tina Spies is Professor for Sociology, Gender and Diversity and Head of the Gender & Diversity Studies Department at the Institute of Social Sciences, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel since April 2021. She also serves as Deputy Managing Director of the Institute of Social Sciences and Head of the MA Migration and Diversity program. Previously, she held professorships at the Evangelical University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt (2018-2021) and research positions at the University of Potsdam and Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main.

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Sociology from University of Kassel (2009)
• MA in Sociology with minors in Psychology and Criminology from University of Hamburg (2005)

Prof. Spies' research critically examines the intersections of migration, gender, and social inequality, with particular focus on othering processes and culturalization of marginalized identities. She develops innovative methodological approaches combining discourse analysis with biographical research to analyze subjectivation processes. Her scholarship addresses contemporary debates around sexualized violence, racism, and masculinity, examining how these phenomena are constructed in public discourse and social practice through power-laden categorizations.

Her recent publications reveal a cohesive trajectory focusing on subjectivation research, intersectionality, and decolonial approaches. She has co-edited multiple volumes on subjectivation methodologies and published extensively on othering in postmigrant contexts. Her work demonstrates how discursive formations shape identities and social relations, particularly regarding migration, gender, and violence. The thematic evolution shows increasing attention to methodological innovation for studying complex social phenomena through intersectional and postcolonial lenses.

She holds significant leadership roles:

• Second Speaker of Women's and Gender Research Section in German Sociological Association (since 2024)
• Member of extended board of Biography Research Section (since 2021)
• Co-founder of Network Empirical Subjectivation Research

Prof. Spies actively supervises doctoral students and leads multiple research projects including EMMD (funded by Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency), which develops methods for multidimensional discrimination research, and KUSS (funded by German Cancer Aid) creating diversity-sensitive screening instruments. Her work bridges academic research with practical applications in anti-discrimination work, migration policy, and gender-based violence prevention.

She collaborates through networks like the Observatory of Migration and Human Rights (SEA-EU) and regularly organizes academic workshops. Her institutional leadership extends to the Budget and Planning Committee of the Philosophy Faculty and the Advisory Board for Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination at CAU Kiel.