Helena Flam (born 2 May 1951) is a Polish-born sociologist and Professor of Sociology at the University of Leipzig, Germany, known for her work on social organization,[1] emotions and social movements.
[2] After leaving Poland for Sweden in 1969, Flam studied sociology at Lund University, where she obtained a Filosofie kandidat (B.A.)
She then worked for the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences (1985–87).
[3] In 1987, inadvertently, her academic career in Germany began: she was first a Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne, then assistant professor at the University of Konstanz (1990-1993), and eventually full professor of sociology at the University of Leipzig.
She also contributed to the sociology of emotions and rule systems theory.