Heiko Beyer is a professor of sociology at the Institute for the Social Sciences at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. He studied sociology, philosophy, and cultural studies at Leipzig University and holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Göttingen as well as a habilitation degree from the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. He is currently working on a book about the subject(ivat)ion of human rights and is also engaged in two projects that explore antisemitism within Germany.

Alexandra Schauer is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt/Main. Previous academic affiliations include the University of Basel, the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, and the New School for Social Research. She holds a PhD from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and is author of the prize-winning book Mensch ohne Welt: Eine Soziologie spätmodener Vergesellschaftung. She is currently researching destructive modes of dealing with social crises.