Dr. Lucas Cé (he/they)

Dr. Lucas Cé

Dr. Lucas Cé (he/they) is a guest researcher at the Chair of Sociology with a Focus on Social Inequalities at TU Dortmund University since August 2026. His research examines the emergence, development, and transformation of sociohistorical inequalities and their contemporary configurations. He is particularly interested in how historical experiences shape present-day social relations, how inequalities are (re)produced, contested, and transformed across generations, and how they become taught, remembered, and silenced over time.

About Dr. Lucas Cé

CURRICULUM VITAE

Education

2018–2024	University of Göttingen, Faculty of Social Sciences, Germany Doctorate degree in Social Sciences (Dr. disc. pol.), under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Gabriele Rosenthal. Dissertation defended in January 2024 (summa cum laude): “Migrants from Sudan in Germany and Jordan: Changing Belongings in the Context of Life and Family Histories”. Norbert Elias Book Prize, Norbert Elias Foundation, 2026 Best Doctoral Thesis Award, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Göttingen, 2023/2024
2013–2015	Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Brazil Master’s degree in Social Sciences, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Hermílio Santos. Thesis defended in August 2015: “The Disappearance of Alain: Movement and Belonging in the Life of a Migrant from Haiti” [originally published in Portuguese].
2007–2011	Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Marco Cepik.
2007–2011	Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Brazil Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences; Academic Distinction (Láurea Acadêmica).

Awards & Distinctions

2026	Norbert Elias Book Prize, Norbert Elias Foundation, Netherlands.
2023/2024	Best Doctoral Thesis Award, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Göttingen, Germany.
2019–2023	Doctoral Scholarship, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
2018	Doctoral Scholarship, Catholic Academic Exchange Service (KAAD) (awarded, declined).
2013–2015	Master’s Scholarship, Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
2011	Academic Distinction (Láurea Acadêmica), Faculty of Social Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
2007–2011	Merit-Based Scholarship (Bolsa Mérito), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; admitted as the highest-ranked applicant to the Bachelor’s program in Social Sciences.

Academic Service (selected)

2026–2027	International Sociological Association (ISA), TG13 Queer Sociology Founding Co-President.
Since 2025	Göttingen Series in Sociological Biographical Research, Göttingen University Press, Germany Editorial Board Member.
Since 2024	German Sociological Association (DGS), Development Sociology / Social Anthropology Section (ESSA) Elected Speaker.
2009–2010	Revista Perspectiva, Faculty of Economics and International Relations, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Executive Board Member.

Conference Organization (selected)

2027	Beyond Violence: Experiences of Flight in Turbulent Times (with Chiamaka Akpuogwu, Charles Murata). XXI ISA World Congress of Sociology, International Sociological Association (RC31/TG11), Gwangju, Korea. [Call for abstracts]
2027	Queer Histories, Silenced Lives: Memory, Inequality, and the Politics of the Past (with Fabio Santos). XXI ISA World Congress of Sociology, International Sociological Association (RC56/TG13), Gwangju, Korea. [Call for abstracts]
2025	The Nexus Between Migration and Enslavement (with Charles Murata). 5th ISA Forum of Sociology (RC31), Rabat, Morocco. [URL]
2025	Present without Past? On the Relevance of Historical Research for Sociological Investigation of the Present (with Gabriele Rosenthal, Giorgos Tsiolis). 5^th ISA Forum of Sociology (RC38/RC56), Rabat, Morocco. Part I [URL] / Part II [URL]
2025	Democratic Transitions? Social Movement Activism After Autocracies (with Antje Daniel, Judith Ehlert, Eva Gerharz). 42^nd Congress of the German Sociological Association (ESSA), Duisburg, Germany. [URL]
2024	Social Inequality in Field Work – Handling Researchers’ Positionality (with Nina Baur, Gabriel Faimau). 4^th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability and 4^th RC33 Regional Conference, Bangkok, Thailand. [URL]

Invited & Conference Talks (selected)

2026	On the Interrelation between Experiences of Physical Violence and Perspectives of the Future: Views from Sudan before, during, and after the 2019 Revolution. 43^rd Congress of the German Sociological Association, Mainz, Germany. [Forthcoming]
2026	The Future of Global Sociology. Decentralizing and Contextualizing Social Research and Knowledge (discussant). 43^rd Congress of the German Sociological Association, Mainz, Germany. [Forthcoming]
2026	Intergenerational (De)Politicization of Belonging: Families from Sudan in Jordan. 17^th European Sociological Association Conference Strengthening Democracies: Social Action, Solidarity, and Sustainable Futures, Warsaw, Poland. [URL]
2026	Intersecting Spaces of Route: Figurational Transformations in Enslavement and Mobility in Salaga, Ghana. Workshop Spaces of Route, Research Centre Re-Figuration of Spaces (SFB 1265), Technische Universität Berlin, Germany. [URL]
2025	The Sociohistorical Construction of Slave Ancestry in Salaga, Ghana. 5^th ISA Forum of Sociology, Rabat, Morocco. [URL]
2025	Afrofuturism and the Legacies of Enslavement: Counter-Colonial Constellations in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. Spring conference of the Development Sociology / Social Anthropology Section of the German Sociological Association, Fulda, Germany. [URL]
2025	Changing ‘Categories’ of Belonging: Migration from Sudan to Jordan and Germany. 20^th International Association for the Study of Forced Migration Conference (IASFM20), Yogyakarta, Indonesia (online). [URL]
2024	Knowledge About the ‘Past’: Processes of Legitimation in the Production of and Access to the Past Among African Descendants in Brazilian “Quilombos.” 4^th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability / 4^th RC33 ISA Regional Conference, Bangkok, Thailand. [URL]
2023	‘Slave Status’ as a Component for Migration: Migrations in and from Sudan Against the Background of Sociohistorical Processes of Enslavement. International Conference on Young Africans on the Move: Exploring Intra- and Inter-Continental Migration Processes and Dynamics, Entebbe, Uganda. [URL]

Academic Positions

Since 08/2026	TU Dortmund University, Institute of Sociology, Germany Guest Researcher at the Chair of Sociology with a Focus on Social Inequality (Prof. Dr. Nicole Burzan).
2024–2026	Ruhr University Bochum, Faculty of Social Sciences, Germany Research Fellow and Lecturer at the Chair of Qualitative Methods of Social Research (Prof. Dr. Maria Pohn-Lauggas). [Institutional profile] Research Fellow and Lecturer in the DFG-funded project Individual and Collective Memories of Slavery and the Slave Trade: A Contrastive Comparison of Different Communities, Generations and Groupings in Ghana and Brazil.
2017–2024	University of Göttingen, Institute of Methods and Methodological Principles in the Social Sciences (formerly Center of Methods in the Social Sciences), Germany Research Fellow and Lecturer in the DFG-funded project Individual and Collective Memories of Slavery and the Slave Trade: A Contrastive Comparison of Different Communities, Generations and Groupings in Ghana and Brazil. [Institutional profile] Research Fellow and Lecturer in the DFG-funded project Biographies of Migrants from Syria and West Africa in Brazil and in Germany: Processes of Inclusion and Participation in the Context of So-called Irregular Migration. Research Collaborator (Sudanese sample) in the DFG-funded project Dynamic Figurations of Refugees, Migrants, and Longtime Residents in Jordan since 1946: Between Peaceable and Tension-Ridden Co-Existence? Researcher in the DAAD-funded project Migration from the Republic of the Sudan to the Federal Republic of Germany and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Research Assistant in the DFG-funded project The Social Construction of Border Zones: A Comparison of Two Geopolitical Cases (Ceuta and Melilla).
2017	Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Brazil Researcher in Pesquisa Divas (Diversity and Health Promotion): National Study of Attitudes, Behaviors, Practices and Prevalence of HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis B and C among Travestis and Trans Women, a partnership between the Brazilian Ministry of Health, Johns Hopkins University, and UNESCO. [URL]
2017	Silicon Valley Institute for Business Innovation, United States Academic Advisor and Event Producer in a project led by Prof. Dr. David J. Teece (UC Berkeley) and Prof. Dr. Daniel Diermeier (University of Chicago). [URL]
2015–2017	Center for Economic and Social Analysis (CAES), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Researcher in The Social Construction of Border Zones: A Comparison of Three Brazilian Cases (Corumbá), funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
2012–2015	Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Researcher in Migrants from Haiti in Southern Brazil, funded by the CNPq and PUCRS.
2008–2010	Center for Strategy and International Relations, Latin American Institute for Advanced Studies, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Research Assistant in the Research Network on Peace and Security: Comparing Intelligence Systems, funded by the CNPq.

Publications

Monograps

Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2024). Migrants from Sudan in Germany and Jordan: Changing Belongings in the Context of Life and Family Histories. Göttingen University Press. [URL] [Full text]

2026 Norbert Elias Book Prize, Norbert Elias Foundation
2023/2024 Best Doctoral Thesis, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Göttingen

Journal Articles

Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2026). The Nexus Between Enslavement and Migration: Changing Belongings in Darfur and North Africa, Sociology (Special Issue: Slavery and Freedom in the Contemporary World) 0(0) [URL]

Cé Sangalli, Lucas / dos Santos Gonçalves, Maria do Carmo (2019). Migration Courses and New Circularities: Migrants from West Africa in Southern Brazil [originally published in Portuguese]. REMHU, 27(56), 61–80. [Full text]

Cé Sangalli, Lucas / Rinaldi, Débora (2018). German Social Interpretive Research: The Methods of Biographical-Narrative Interview and Biographical Case Reconstruction [originally published in Portuguese]. Em Tese, 15(2), 107–136. [Full text]

Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2018). The Social Construction of a Self-Space: Belonging in the Biography of a Migrant [originally published in Portuguese]. Revista Mosaico (CPDOC/FGV), 9(14), 338–358. [Full text]

dos Santos Gonçalves, Maria do Carmo / Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2018). A Biographical Approach to Transnational Migration: Haitian and Senegalese Cases in Brazil [originally published in Portuguese]. Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa (Auto)Biográfica, 3(7), 91–108. [Full text]

Contributions to Edited Volumes

Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2022). Contested We- and They-Images among People from Darfur and other Regions of Sudan living in Germany. In: Gabriele Rosenthal (ed.) Transnational Biographies. Göttingen University Press, 115–169. [URL] [Full text]

Rosenthal, Gabriele / Albaba, Ahmed / Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2022). Migrants from Mauritania: On the Existence of Slavery Today and the Unequal Power Chances of the Bidhan, the Soudan and the Haratin. In: Gabriele Rosenthal (ed.) Transnational Biographies. Göttingen University Press, 81–113. [URL] [Full text]

Rosenthal, Gabriele / Cé Sangalli, Lucas / Worm, Arne (2022). Migrants from Senegal: Integrated in Religious, National or Multinational Networks. In: Gabriele Rosenthal (ed.) Transnational Biographies. Göttingen University Press, 27–80. [URL] [Full text]

Cé Sangalli, Lucas / dos Santos Gonçalves, Maria do Carmo (2020). Migrants and Refugees from Ghana and Haiti in Southern Brazil: Familial Constellations and Processes of Escape. In: Eva Bahl / Johannes Becker (eds.) Global Processes of Flight and Migration. Göttingen University Press, 83–102. [URL] [Full text]

Forthcoming

Cé Sangalli, Lucas (commissioned contract for encyclopedia entry; 2027): Intergenerational Transmission of Memories of Slaveries. In: Jennifer Bryson Clark et al. (ed.) The Sage Encyclopedia of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. Sage Publishing.

Cé Sangalli, Lucas (commissioned contract for encyclopedia entry; 2027): Descent-Based Slavery. In: Jennifer Bryson Clark et al. (ed.) The Sage Encyclopedia of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. Sage Publishing.

Cé Sangalli, Lucas (commissioned contract for encyclopedia entry; 2027): Defining Child Slavery. In: Jennifer Bryson Clark et al. (ed.) The Sage Encyclopedia of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. Sage Publishing.

Bahl, Eva / Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2027). Where to Go and Whom to Trust? Fieldwork Experiences between Local Knowledges and Intersecting Positionalities. In: Yvonne Berger (ed.) Global Fieldwork in Turbulent Times. Palgrave Macmillan.

Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2027). Outsiders within Outsiders in Salvador da Bahia. In: Gabriele Rosenthal / Maria Pohn-Lauggas (eds.) Memories of Slavery and the Slave Trade in Ghana and Brazil (Vol. II). Göttingen University Press.

In Press

Cé Sangalli, Lucas / Worm, Arne (2026). Biography and Violence. In: Gabriele Rosenthal / Johannes Becker / Maria Pohn-Lauggas / Arne Worm (eds.) Handbook of Biographical Research in the Social Sciences. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2026). The Figuration Between Gonja, ‘Grunshi’ and ‘Konkomba’ in Salaga: ‘Slave Ancestry’ and the Ethnicization of Status. In: Gabriele Rosenthal / Maria Pohn-Lauggas (eds.) Memories of Slavery and the Slave Trade in Ghana and Brazil (Vol. I). Göttingen University Press.

Cé Sangalli, Lucas / Rinaldi, Débora / Soares, Marcela (2026). Enslavement and the Slave Trade as a Topic in Schools in Ghana and Brazil. In: Gabriele Rosenthal / Maria Pohn-Lauggas (eds.) Memories of Slavery and the Slave Trade in Ghana and Brazil (Vol. I). Göttingen University Press.

Bahl, Eva / Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2026). Figurations in Cape Coast and Elmina: Intergenerational Inequalities and Contemporary Power Asymmetries. In: Gabriele Rosenthal / Maria Pohn-Lauggas (eds.) Memories of Slavery and the Slave Trade in Ghana and Brazil (Vol. I). Göttingen University Press.

Bahl, Eva / Cé Sangalli, Lucas / Pohn-Lauggas, Maria (2026). West African Port Towns, Euro-African Encounters and the Trade in Enslaved People. In: Gabriele Rosenthal / Maria Pohn-Lauggas (eds.) Memories of Slavery and the Slave Trade in Ghana and Brazil (Vol. I). Göttingen University Press.

Rosenthal, Gabriele / Bogner, Artur / Cé Sangalli, Lucas (2026). Established Players and Outsiders in the Northern Region: Dagomba and Konkomba. In: Maria Pohn-Lauggas / Gabriele Rosenthal (eds.) Memories of Slavery and the Slave Trade in Ghana and Brazil (Vol. I). Göttingen University Press.

Teaching

Teaching Experience

Summer 2026	Ruhr University Bochum, Faculty of Social Sciences, Germany Queering Methods: Critical Approaches in Interdisciplinary Interpretive Social Research \| MA Course [URL]
Winter 2025/26	University of Oldenburg, School of Linguistics and Cultural Studies, Germany Servitude – Enslavement – Migration: Tracing Global Historical Inequalities in Contemporary Mobilities \| The European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR) University of Oldenburg, School of Linguistics and Cultural Studies, Germany Belonging in Post-Conflict Constellations: Multiperspective Approaches to Migration \| The European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR)
Summer 2025	Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Department of Social and Cultural Sciences, Germany Social Sciences Methodology: Practice in Interpretive Research on Human Rights \| MA Course
Winter 2024/25	Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Department of Social and Cultural Sciences, Germany Social Sciences Methodology: Theory and Practice of Interdisciplinary Research \| MA Course
Winter 2021/22	University of Göttingen, Center of Methods in Social Sciences, Germany Gender & Violence: Methodical and Methodological Challenges \| MA Course (exercise)
Summer 2009	Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil Public Security Intelligence \| Postgraduate Specialization

Invited Lectures

Summer 2021

Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Department of Political Science, Brazil

Social Interpretive Research and the Study of Migration Phenomena [Lecture recording]

Summer 2021

Freie Universität Berlin, Institute for Latin American Studies (LAI), Germany

Migration in the Americas: Haitian Migration to (and through) Brazil, 10 Years After | MA Course