Richard Münch (sociologist)
Richard Münch (born 13 May 1945 in Niefern near Pforzheim, Germany) is a German sociologist and, as of 2013, professor emeritus at the University of Bamberg. His primary field is sociological theory, in particular the work of Talcott Parsons. In the 1980s, he was instrumental in popularizing Parsons in Germany and defended his functionalist "grand theory" of action against competing approaches, such as rational choice and Niklas Luhmann's systems theory, which had been gaining ground since the 1970s. In the late 1980s, Münch spent several months each year as a visiting professor at the University of  California, Los Angeles; his courses there formed the basis for a three-volume English-language textbook on sociological theory. In the 1990s and 2000s, Münch's work diversified, and he focused more strongly on empirical studies on cultural, political and economical topics ranging from the impact of mass communication to globalization and European integration. More recently, his focus has been on current developments and reforms in the German system of higher education, of which he is a vocal public critic.