Biography: Hubert Knoblauch is a Professor of General Sociology at Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin). He studied sociology, philosophy and history at the University of Konstanz (1978 -1984) and anthropology and linguistics at the University of Sussex (1980-1981). Prior to this position, he held a Professorship in the Sociology of Religion at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Professor Knoblauch’s research areas are broad and range from religious movements to near-death experiences. He is also interested in the societal role of knowledge and the empirical study and theory of communication, which he does by looking at scientific communication methods. These include video graphic methods and the digital archiving of audiovisual data. He is the current Vice Spokesperson of the Collaborative Research Center “Re-Figuration of Spaces” (SFB 1265) and Speaker for the Research Network “Social Theory” in the European Sociological Association.