Helen Bönnighausen

About the person & the research project

Helen Bönnighausen, M.A., is a research associate in the Collaborative Research Centre "Structural Change of Property“. She studied literature and cultural studies as well as sociology at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (2016–2020), social theory at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (2021–2023) and media philosophy at the Bauhaus University Weimar (2020–2024). Her studies were funded by the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (“Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes”). In subproject C06 "Making things available. Property as a specific form of world relationship" of the Collaborative Research Centre, she is working on the relationship between world relationship and energy sharing. In her dissertation project, she is investigating bodily existence in the world with regard to (spatially) plural situations of order and transition.

to the personal page on the website of the Collaborative Research Centre Transregio 294 “Structural Change of Property”

Personal Information

• since 04/2025: adjunct lecturer at the Chair of General and Theoretical Sociology | Friedrich Schiller University Jena
• since 02/2025: Doctoral candidate Max-Weber-Kolleg, University of Erfurt | supervisors: Prof. Hartmut Rosa, Prof. Martina Löw
• 02/2024 – 01/2025: research associate in the Collaborative Research Centre "Structural Change of Property“ | project group: Prof. Hartmut Rosa
• 09/2021 – 04/2022: Erasmus+ internships | Goethe Institute Ireland, Dublin | Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès
• 03/2021 – 01/2024: scholarship German Academic Scholarship Foundation ("Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes")
• 04/2021 – 01/2024: Master's programme in Social Theory | Friedrich Schiller University Jena
• 10/2020 – 03/2021: Master’s programme in German Literature (Master of Arts, no degree) | Humboldt University Berlin
• 10/2020 – 02/2025: Master’s programme in media philosophie (Master of Arts) | Bauhaus University Weimar
• 10/2016 – 09/2020: Bachelor’s programme in Literary and Cultural Studies, Politics and Society (Bachelor of Arts) | Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

Research interests

• differentiation theory
• phenomenology
• spatial and urban sociology
• media philosophy
• philosophical anthropology
• empirical social research
   

Research project (PhD)
working title: Übergangsphänomene in der differenzierten Gegenwartsgesellschaft

Regarding the conditions of being in the world in (urban) differentiated contemporary societies, I focus on the transition processes between different (spatial) contexts of action or meaning. We experience such transitions every day when we move from one social frame to another – for example, when leaving the office for home, in the waiting room for a Zoom conference, when stepping onto the quiet street after a concert night or when unexpectedly encountering someone familiar from a different social context.

I propose the thesis that in these moments – as we move from one frame of meaning to another – the way of living in modern societal contexts is fundamentally negotiated, and the quality of being in the world in contemporary forms of society is expressed. As societal science research, the dissertation aims to reconstruct these everyday transitional processes. This is explored by firstly analyzing the structure and characteristics of these phenomena through various theoretical research approaches (e.g., Goffman, Plessner, Turner, Schütz, Löw). Secondly, it is empirically captured where and how such transitions between different contexts are subjectively experienced and (ritually) practiced using narrative-based and go-along interviews (fieldwork in Berlin).

The findings, along with a discussion of the societal function of transitions, are expected to provide insights into the relationship to the world and the (physical and mental) handling of the plurality of contexts and meanings. Spatial-infrastructural challenges, such as the lack of transition infrastructure, will also be identified. The results will be discussed in terms of their impact on spatial and urban planning and thus translated into concrete applications. 

Publications, presentations, conferences 

Publications

• Jörg Oberthür, Christoph Henning, Malte Janzing, Henrike Katzer & Helen Bönnighausen: Zwischen Räumen. Wie sich Nähe und Distanz in Städten durch die Sharing Economy verändert, in: Berliner Journal für Soziologie 34, S. 551–580 (2024) [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11609-025-00545-8]
• Jonathan Rinne, Malte Janzing, Helen Bönnighausen: Property vs. Usage Rights. Attitudes of Citizens and Political Elites. Working Paper Nr. 6 (2024), SFB Structural Change of Property [https://sfb294-eigentum.de/media/filer_public/ec/c0/ecc029f2-92b6-40d6-b5e3-c9a9edfb361f/wp_6.pdf, publication in journal in progress]

Presentations

• „Chancen und Risiken des ‚Teilens’ von Energie in Energiegenossenschaften.“ presentation at the sharing symposium „Mit Hochschulen auf dem Weg zur sozial-ökologischen Transformation“, 26.11.2024, Universität Jena
• „Praktiken und Ökonomien des Teilens als Ausweitung von Verbrauch und Konsum.“ presentation at the workshop: „Eigentum, soziale Rechte und Versorgung – zur Ausweitung der Verbraucherpolitik“, 28.6.2024, Universitäten Kassel und Erfurt
• “Ownership, Spacing and Community Spirit: How Energy Sharing is changing Our Relationship to the World.” presentation at the Science Technology and Society Conference Graz 2024, 7.5.24, TU Graz
• „Unser Strom, oder Eigentum, das man nicht anfassen kann. Warum das Teilen von Energie so schwerfällt.“ presentation at the workshop: „Energiekrise, Eigentum und Daseinsvorsorge – das Energiesystem im Wandel“, 29.2.2024, Collaborative Research Centre "Structural Change of Property", Universities of Jena and Erfurt [together with Christoph Henning]

Conferences

• Copenhagen Winter School in Phenomenology, 30–31.1.2025, Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen [participation]
• “Sharing as an Alternative: Ambivalent Developments in the Sharing Economy.” Panel at the annual conference Beyond (Private) Property, Collaborative Research Centre Structural Change of Property, 9.11.2024, Universitäten Jena und Erfurt [moderation]