The AB Sociology of Media and Theory of Society offers the following thematic blocks as orientation aids. Examples are listed for each focus.

• Systems theory
• Pragmatic differentiation theory (translation theory)
• Theories of multiple differentiation
• Evolutionary institutionalism
• Human differentiation
• Modes of existence (ANT)
• Possible supervisors: Claudia Göbel, Kathrin Lutz, Sascha Dickel, Marc Mölders

• Infrastructures (keyboard, office chair, screen, controller) in the context of digital gaming practices
• Media comparisons between digital and/or analog items (books, newspapers; series, films; cinema, home cinema)
• Time and the future in digital games
• Categorization processes (robot, cyborg, alien, human, man, child, senior) in digital games
• Possible supervisors: Marcel Thiel-Woznica, Benjamin Doubali, Sascha Dickel

• Trans- and posthumanism
• Categorizations of technically modified bodies
• Instagram representations of body modifications and the negotiation of the boundaries of the human(example)
• Depiction of AI (robots, algorithms, autonomous vehicles, …) in the items (e.g. Films, advertising)
• Use of AI in media-related appointments (such as journalism)
• Communication with machines (avatars, Alexa, ChatGPT, robots, computers, smartphones, etc.)
• Possible supervisors: Toni Garbe, Marcel Thiel-Woznica, Kathrin Lutz, Sascha Dickel, Kimberly Schlüter

• Future ideas and imagination of new media and technologies
• Media of the imaginary (literature, Film, games)
• Producing the future (practices of spokesperson, writing, prototyping, …)
• Possible supervisors: Kathrin Lutz, Marcel Thiel-Woznica, Benjamin Doubali, Sascha Dickel, Kimberly Schlüter

• Transformation work on society, for example towards greater sustainability
• Imaginations of sustainability (implied forms of social change, social inequality, human-nature relationship)
• Influence of sustainability efforts on transformation processes
• Social transformation as an organizational task
• Transformation of and in a differentiated society
• Possible supervisors: Kathrin Lutz, Marc Mölders

• Influence of digital media on organizations. Potential objects of investigation can be press releases, interviews, reports in journalism (image, sound, text), advertising (and much more)
• Digitization of and in organizations (e.g. industry, public administration, civil society organizations)
• Possible supervisors: Benjamin Doubali, Claudia Göbel, Marc Mölders

• Presentation and communication of science in the media (novels, films, news, documentaries, social media, …)
• Participation of citizens (establishing and structuring participation through digital technologies, establishing and changing participation formats, methods of participatory research)
• Organizations and infrastructures of research and scientific publication
• Internal public spheres: media change and internal scientific communication (datafication, open science)
• External publics: Relationships between science and politics, business, health, etc.
• Possible supervisors: Claudia Göbel, Sascha Dickel

• Social function of journalism (especially investigative journalism)
• Changing conditions for journalism due to digitalization (especially investigative journalism)
• Journalism as a social control authority
• Journalistic organizations
• Possible supervisors: Toni Garbe, Marc Mölders

• (New) Media as an object and subject of regulation
• (New) Media as a regulatory instrument and vehicle
• (New) Media as a sensational (fourth, fifth, etc.) force
• (New) Media and the handling of major social problems
• Media and civil society organizations
• Possible supervisors: Marc Mölders, Sascha Dickel

• Investigation of the communication structures and/or affordances of specific platforms/apps (e.g. Spotify, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, TikTok)
• Communication change through digital platforms
• Governance of and in platforms
• Social media and human differentiation
• Social media and fake news and disinformation, hate speech and conflicts
• Infrastructures and interfaces of digital communication
• Possible supervisors: Kathrin Lutz, Claudia Göbel, Sascha Dickel, Marc Mölders, Kimberly Schlüter

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