Sociology: Master’s Thesis Receives “BestMasters” Award

What does social mobility mean for an individual’s life? Sociologist Pia Schöttke explores this question in her award-winning master’s thesis. Her study examines how upward social mobility affects people’s lived experiences, their relationships with the world around them, and their overall sense of life satisfaction. The work begins with a widely held societal assumption: that effort and achievement automatically lead to a better life.

Based on three narrative-biographical interviews, Schöttke analyzes how individuals who have experienced upward mobility process their backgrounds, their entry into new social contexts, and the associated disruptions and moments of disorientation.

Theoretically, the study brings together two key approaches in sociology: Hartmut Rosa’s theory of resonance and alienation, and Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and social fields. This perspective allows social mobility to be examined not only in terms of forms of capital and social positions, but also through experiences of resonance, alienation, and quality of life.

The findings show that upward mobility is often accompanied by profound habitus conflicts, self-doubt, and fragmented processes of personal transformation. Rather than automatically leading to a “good life,” the pressure to adapt within upwardly mobile environments can create significant potential for alienation.

PD Dr. Yves Jeanrenaud of LMU’s Institute of Sociology, who supervised the thesis, describes it as an outstanding contribution to the analysis of social inequality in the context of modern meritocratic promises. He particularly highlights the integration of different theoretical perspectives, the methodological reflection on narrative-biographical interviews, and the further development of Bourdieu’s concept of habitus through the notion of “habitual appropriation.”

For her work, Pia Schöttke received the BestMasters Award from the academic publisher Springer. The publication will appear in April 2026 with Springer.

For Schöttke, the award also represents “greater visibility for women in sociological discourse and increased awareness of issues surrounding social mobility and equal opportunity.” Socially defined (educational) success, she argues, is largely a product of socialization. “When this determination is broken, the extra miles traveled by individuals from socially disadvantaged backgrounds should not be obscured but recognized as an achievement,” Schöttke says. At the same time, she advocates for schools, universities, and workplaces to be shaped more strongly as spaces that support development and opportunity regardless of social background.

With its “BestMasters” series, Springer annually recognizes outstanding master’s theses produced at renowned universities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland that have been recommended for publication by academic reviewers.