Jens Zinn

Jens O. Zinn is the T. R. Ashworth Professor of Sociology in the School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Melbourne. He is an internationally recognised scholar in the sociology of risk and uncertainty. His career includes progression from Senior Research Fellow at the University of Kent's School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research to Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer, and Reader at Melbourne. Zinn holds a Dr. phil. and has affiliations with institutions such as Universität Bielefeld. His research specializations include social theories of risk, risk-taking, biographical management of uncertainty, everyday strategies for dealing with risk, discourse and corpus linguistic analysis of risk in media and policy, risk governance, social inequalities in risk exposure, and cross-cultural comparisons of risk attitudes in areas like health, environment, finance, climate change, and pandemics. Employing interdisciplinary methods combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, including corpus linguistics, Zinn examines how individuals, organizations, and societies perceive, construct, and respond to risks.

Zinn has produced influential publications shaping the field. Key books include Social Theories of Risk and Uncertainty: An Introduction (2009, over 600 citations), Routledge Handbook of Risk Studies (2016, co-editor with Adam Burgess and Alberto Alemanno), New Life Courses, Social Risks and Social Policy in East Asia (2016, co-editor), Risk in The New York Times (1987–2014): A Corpus-Based Exploration of Sociological Theories (2018, with Daniel McDonald), and Understanding Risk-Taking (2020). Highly cited articles feature Heading into the Unknown: Everyday Strategies for Managing Risk and Uncertainty (2008, 495 citations), Current Directions in Risk Research: New Developments in Psychology and Sociology (2006, with Peter Taylor-Gooby, 412 citations), and The Meaning of Risk-Taking: Key Concepts and Dimensions (2019, 222 citations). With over 3,300 citations on ResearchGate and verified Google Scholar profile, his work impacts risk society theory, reflexive modernization, and policy debates. Awards include the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award (2014, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation) and Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg Fellowship (2023). Zinn contributes to editorial boards, international collaborations, PhD supervision, and serves as contact for postdoctoral fellowships in Social and Political Sciences.

Professional Email: jzinn@unimelb.edu.au