Personal information

Education

Born 1935 in Lucerne. 1942-1950 Primary and secondary school. 1951-1954 Teachers’ seminary, City of Lucerne. 1954-1955 Primary school teacher,  Aesch, BL and Basel. Journalistic activities "Luzerner Tagblatt", "Schweizer Familie". 1955-1961 Head of the Youth Services of the Organization for the Swiss Abroad. Concurrently, studies of economics at the University of Bern. 1961 Licentiate. 1961-1964 Assistant, Institute of Sociology, University of Bern. 1964 Doctorate. 1964/65 Swiss National Science Foundation Scholarship: Visiting scholar, Columbia University, New York, Cornell University, Ithaca (NY). 1966 Habilitation, University of Bern; Senior assistant, Institute of Sociology, University of Bern.

Professional Career

1968 Associate Professor, Faculty of Law and Economics, University of Bern. 1969/70 Visiting Associate Professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. Visiting scholar, Cornell University, Ithaca (NY). 1970 Professor of Sociology, University of Konstanz. 1989 –2000 Head of the research center "Society and Family". 2000 Emeritus. Since 2021 member “Zentrum für Kulturwissenschaftliche Forschung”, University of Konstanz. 1988 Academic fellowship of the Volkswagen Foundation. 1990 Visiting scholar, University of Berkeley (CA).

Scientific network

Apart from my colleagues in the research group, I am grateful to the following colleagues for their important impulses:

Thomas Bek (Evangelische Hochschule Ludwigsburg), Johannes Bilstein (Folkwang University Essen), Ulrike Borst (Meilener Institute), Urie Bronfenbrenner (Cornell University), Roman Brotbeck (Hochschule der Künste Bern), John Clausen (University of California, Berkeley), Mon Cochran (Cornell University), Walter Dietrich (University of Bern), Glen Elder (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), Karen Fingerman (University of Texas), Rudolf Fisch (Universität Speyer), Hans Rudi Fischer (Heidelberger Zentrum für Systemische Forschung), Insa Fooken (Universität Siegen), Julia Franz (Universität Bamberg), Miriam Haller (Universität Köln), Patrick Haemmerle (Child Psychiatric Services, Fribourg), Andreas Hoff (Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences), Matthias Grundmann (University of Münster), Paul Hoyningen-Huehne (University of Hannover), Michael Honig (Université de Luxembourg), Franz Xaver Kaufmann (University of Bielefeld), Lothar Krappmann (Max Planck Institute for Educational Research, Berlin), Andreas Lange (Weingarten University of Applied Sciences), Ludwig Liegle (University of Tübingen), Phyllis Moen (University of Minnesota) Christoph Müller (University of Bern), Christian Mürner (Hamburg), Ursula Pietsch-Lindt (University of Cologne), Karl Pillemer (Cornell University), Ingo Richter (German Youth Institute Munich), Mariano Sánchez (Universidad de Granada), Brigitte Rockstroh (Universität Konstanz), Rudolf Schlögl (University of Konstanz), Annette Scheunpflug (University of Bamberg), Reto Sorg (Robert Walser Zentrum), Karl Studer (Psychiatrische Klinik Münsterlingen), Magnus Wieland (Swiss Literary Archives), Eric Widmer (Université de Genève), Thomas Wild (University of Bern), Mon Cochran (Cornell University), Glen Elder (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), Rudolf Fisch (Universität Speyer), Brigitte Rockstroh (Universität Konstanz), Reto Sorg (Robert Walser Zentrum), Karl Studer (Psychiatrische Klinik Münsterlingen), Felix Thürlemann (Universität Konstanz), Magnus Wieland (Schweizerisches Literaturarchiv), Eric Widmer (Université de Genève), Thomas Wild (Universität Bern).

Advisory activities, memberships

1969-1976 Founding committee of the University of Educational Sciences Aargau. 1980-1982 Member Commission "Family Policy in Switzerland". 1980-2009 Scientific Advisory Board to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs (see also: Wissenschaftlicher Beirat für Familienfragen: Gutachten). 1998-2002 Commissions for the Evaluation, Swiss National Foundation. 2002-2010 Consulting activity, Federal Office for Social Security (Section: Intergenerational relationships). 2002-2012 Consulting activity Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (Intergenerational policy). 2012-present: Regular contributor to the journal "Familiendynamik" (Website Familiendynamik). 2009 Founding member "Interdisziplinärer Arbeitskreis Ambivalenz" (IAA). 2012 Founding member International Network "Generationes".

1972-1998. President of the Thurgau Art Society (Thurgauische Kunstgesellschaft). – 2010-present: Studies on free musical improvisation (Ernesto Molinari).