Prof. Dr Matthias Koenig
Member of the Expert Council
Max-Weber-Institute of Sociology at the Heidelberg University
Matthias Koenig is Professor of Empirical Macrosociology at the Max-Weber-Institute of Sociology at the University of Heidelberg. His research deals with human rights, migration, religion and sociological theory. One focus of his work is the global and local dynamics when it comes to regulating cultural diversity. He has sat on the boards of various national and international scientific organisations and is currently Vice-President of the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Photo credit: © Universität Göttingen/ Christoph Mischke
Professional background:
- Degree in sociology and protestant theology at the University of Marburg, the University of Hamburg and Princeton University, 1991–1997
- Research Assistant in General Sociology at the University of Marburg, 1998–2003
- Doctorate in sociology at the University of Marburg, 2003
- Academic Assistant in General Sociology at the University of Bamberg, 2003–2006
- Postdoctoral qualification (Habilitation) in sociology at the University of Bamberg, 2009
- Professor of Sociology, focusing on the sociology of religion, at the University of Göttingen, 2006–2020 and Deputy Director of the Lichtenberg College at the University of Göttingen, 2014–2020
- Visiting Professor at the École Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE) in Paris, 2006 and 2015
- Hannah Arendt Visiting Professorship (DAAD) of German and European Studies at the University of Toronto, 2010–2011
- Visiting Professor, Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2011
- Max Planck Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, 2011–2021
- Visiting scientist at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, 2018–2019
- Professor of Empirical Macrosociology at the Max-Weber-Institute of Sociology at the University of Heidelberg, since 2020
- Vice-President of the German Research Foundation (DFG), since 2021