Lars Michael Clausen (8 April 1935, Berlin – 20 May 2010, Hamburg) was a German sociologist and professor at the University of Kiel.

[1] During World War II, the family lived on the Darß (in Pomerania).

After academic teaching in Münster, Bielefeld, and The Hague, he was called 1970 to the chair of Sociology at Kiel University.

Clausen inspired generations of students with his ingenuity and his ability to illustrate sociological theories with practical examples.

[2] He specialized in the sociology of culture, of labor, and of disaster, and is chief editor of the Complete Works of Ferdinand Tönnies.