Vera King

Prof. Dr. Vera King is a Full Professor of Sociology and Psychoanalytical Social Psychology at Goethe University Frankfurt and Managing Director of the Sigmund Freud Institute. Her work bridges psychoanalysis and sociology, focusing on digitalization's impact on psyche and society, optimization culture, intergenerational dynamics, and social pathologies in contemporary contexts.

• Key Projects:
  • The Measured Life in the Digital Age (DFG-funded, 2018–2025)
  • Reassessing Authoritarian Syndromes in Digital Media (DFG, 2023–2026)
  • Reproductive Timing (DFG Research Group, 2021–2026)
  • Psychosocial Consequences of Migration and Flight (Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, 2018–2025)
• Grants: Funded by DFG, VolkswagenStiftung, and Hessen State Ministry.

Her research explores:

• Digitalization: Quantification, self-optimization, and temporal boundary dissolution.
• Intergenerational Relations: Conflicts between hope and destruction, cultural memory transmission.
• Social Pathologies: Authoritarianism as regression, trust/mistrust dynamics in pandemics.
• Migration: Generational tensions and adolescent development in displaced populations.

Recent projects analyze authoritarianism in digital contexts, reproductive timing ethics, and digital media's role in adolescent identity formation. She collaborates across disciplines, including with the Cluster of Excellence Normative Orders and the Institute for Social Research Frankfurt.