In recent years, there have been calls within various disciplines in the social sciences and cultural studies for a self- reflexive point of departure in research practice. What is wanted is that one should take the time in research to become aware of one's own perspective in order to discover not only inherent mistakes but possible entanglements or an unavoidable embeddedness. Regardless of the function of this gain in awareness, the same need arises in all disciplines to establish self- reflexivity as an important component of the undertaking. This involves various approaches: some social scientists merely acknowledge the necessity of greater reflexivity, but leave open the concrete forms it may take. Other researchers go one step further by attempting to systematically create selfreflexivity as a field of investigation or, even more programmatic, observe a paradigm shift in science, offering a new, situational form of thought (Haraway 1988, 1996). Many of the concepts recall the discussions at the beginning of the sociology of knowledge involving the sociologist Karl Mannheim. We only need to think of such terms as the total concept of ideology, existential boundedness of thought (Seinsgebundenheit des Denkens), conjunctive thinking, inevitable perspectivity and relationism in contrast to relativism. However, the sociology of Mannheim is largely ignored in the current discourse. The aim of this article is to show the continuing importance of Mannheim's contribution to a sociology of self- reflexivity.

In my book, Kunst und Wissen. Die Stilanalyse in der Soziologie Karl Mannheims (Art and Knowledge. The Analysis of Style in Karl Mannheim's Sociology), I pointed to the central role of self- reflexivity in Mannheim's sociology of knowledge (Barboza, 2005: 207– 43). While writing this book, I was a student at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. The importance of self- reflexivity was especially strong in the arts then. Many artists, in fact, stopped producing physical works of art, reflecting instead upon the conditions of artistic production or the art system and created installations or procedural art works. Mannheim's approach to a sociology of self- reflexivity struck me as very innovative at the time. In my PhD dissertation in sociology, I therefore illustrated how Mannheim programmatically defended self- reflexivity not only in his theoretical texts, but that he skillfully exercised self- reflexivity in his empirical work as well.