How do societies in Latin America resolve crises? Whether political unrest, the extreme gap between rich and poor, the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest or the threat of a wall between the USA and Mexico - Latin American countries face many serious problems. Following a successful evaluation, the Center for Advanced Latin American Studies (CALAS) will be focusing on these issues in the main phase of the collaborative project. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will provide 12 million euros of funding for the project. Coordinated by Bielefeld University, various universities in Germany and Latin America have been establishing the framework for the international research centre since 2017. In the project, Leibniz University Hannover is represented by Professor Christine Hatzky from the History Department and the Centre for Atlantic and Global Studies; other German project partners include University of Kassel and Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
The CALAS headquarters is located in Guadalajara, Mexico. In addition to Guadalajara University, regional centres are located in San José (Costa Rica), Quito (Ecuador) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). The two-year initial phase (funding: one million euros), during which the framework of the international centre was established, will now be followed by the six-year main phase. CALAS is the largest project on Latin America in receipt of sponsorship from German funding bodies.
Up to 25 researchers will address specific problems in work and research groups in Guadalajara as well as in the regional centres. The researchers are based internationally and cover various disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Furthermore, the centre intends to establish postgraduate programmes as well as international conferences and workshops in Latin America and Germany.
Within the scope of the project, Leibniz University Hannover is significantly involved in the Laboratory of Knowledge, where research on violence and peace in Latin America is conducted. The sub-project is led by Professor Christine Hatzky, Professor Joachim Michael (Bielefeld University), Professor David Diaz, and Professor Werner Mackenbach (both from Costa Rica University). "We intend to bring together German researchers and Latin American experts specialising in violence and conflict resolution in order to create a new dimension of scientific exchange, as well as to discuss new approaches", says Professor Hatzky.
Another project in the main phase of CALAS will explore the question of how states in Latin America deal with environmental crises (led by Bielefeld University). Other topics include "the challenges of social inequality" or "regional identities/identity formation processes". During the initial phase, the centre has already established a series of essays in Spanish, as well as a Hispanic publishing network in cooperation with Bielefeld University Press. Both projects will continue during the main phase.
CALAS was approved within the framework of a BMBF funding line, which aims to establish Maria Sibylla Merian Centres worldwide. Through these centres, the BMBF intends to promote the internationalisation of the humanities, cultural sciences and social sciences in Germany through close bilateral and multilateral collaborations outside of Germany. CALAS was the second centre to be approved in 2017 within the scope of this funding line.
Note to editors:
For further information, please contact Professor Christine Hatzky, History Department, email: christine.hatzky@hist.uni-hannover.de.
