Heide Gerstenberger

Heide Gerstenberger (born 21 July 1940) is a German political scientist and economist. She has been Professor of Theory of Civil Society at the State at the University of Bremen since 1974. She was awarded emeritus status in 2005.

Life

Gerstenberger, born in Heuchlingen in 1940, studied social sciences in Wilhelmshaven, Stellenbosch and Göttingen from 1960 to 1964. Following her studies, she initially worked as a contract teacher at the vocational school in Reutlingen and later as a member of staff at the adult education center in Düsseldorf.

In 1966, she received a doctoral scholarship from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and returned to the University of Göttingen. In 1968, Gerstenberger received her doctorate (Dr. disc. pol.) on the subject of revolutionary conservatism. From 1966 to 1974, she was a research assistant at the Department of Political Science at the University of Göttingen.

In 1968, Gerstenberger was delegated by the Federal Assistants' Conference to the founding senate for the University of Bremen, which began its work on September 19. Gerstenberger chaired the founding senate from April 13, 1970, until the founding rector Thomas von der Vring was elected on June 29, 1970.

Main focus of work

Gerstenberger works on a broad spectrum of social theory and social history topics. These range from works on local social history to works on poverty and social policy to research on the functioning of National Socialist rule. The focus is always on the analysis of the historical development and current structures of modern states. (2. korrigierte Auflage 2018). English translation: Market and Violence. The Functioning of Capitalism in History. Brill, Leiden 2022, ISBN 978-90-04-52212-1. together with Claudia von Braunmühl, Ralf Ptak, Christa Wichterich (Hrsg.): ABC der globalen (Un)Ordnung. Von »Anthropozän« bis »Zivilgesellschaft«, Hamburg: VSA-Verlag 2019, ISBN 978-3-96488-003-1. together with Ulrich Welke: Auf den Wogen von Meeren und Mächten. Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot 2022, ISBN 978-3-89691-071-4. Staatsgewalten. Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot 2023, ISBN 978-3-89691-090-5.