Latin America: International research network seeks answers to crises

Latin America is often in the media again today: be it because of the political unrest in Venezuela, the numerous victims of a negligent dam burst in Brazil or the threat of a wall between the USA and Mexico. Such phenomena make us forget that Latin America is not only shaken by crises, but often develops creative solutions that also offer important suggestions for Europe. How do crises arise in Latin America and how are they resolved? The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the CALAS joint project to answer this question with 12 million euros over the next six years. The University of Kassel is coordinating the "Maria Sibylla Merian Centre for Advanced Latin American Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences" (CALAS), based at the University of Guadalajara (Mexico), together with Bielefeld University.
 

Research also in Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina and Costa Rica

It is one of the most extensive research projects on Latin America funded by Germany. On the German side, the universities of Kassel, Bielefeld, Hannover and Jena are involved. In Latin America, in addition to the University of Guadalajara, the regional sites of San José (Costa Rica), Quito (Ecuador) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) are participating.

Research is conducted in the four clusters "Socio-ecological Transformation," "Social Inequalities," "Violence and Conflict Resolution," and "Identity." Within the research network, the University of Kassel coordinates, among other things, a comprehensive research program on issues of social inequality in the areas of elite research, inequality and education as well as socio-ecological inequalities, conducts research on the future of work in order to create economically productive, socially acceptable and ecologically sustainable jobs in the long term and in an international perspective, and develops teaching modules for sustainable development with Argentinean and Cuban partners.

The focus of CALAS is on solution strategies for socio-political crises, emphasizes Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Burchardt, head of the Department of International and Inter-Societal Relations in Kassel and one of the two German directors of CALAS: "Like hardly any other region of the global South, Latin America is characterized by the creative search for cultural and political strategies for overcoming multiple challenges that accompany social change and point to new development paths. We want to examine these and find out what we too can learn from them. The focus is on scientific exchange with colleagues - we want to do research with them, not about them. Every year, we bring together up to 25 international fellows, hold numerous events at all locations and are already looking forward to the visit of many guest researchers to our university and our beautiful city."

Burchardt continued, "I am convinced that CALAS will be one of the most important European research alliances with Latin America within the next five years, and I am pleased that with Kassel, Hesse will also be involved in solving the problems that will decide the future of humanity, in the sense of more social justice and more sustainable development."

The President of the University of Kassel, Prof. Dr. Reiner Finkeldey, congratulated Prof. Burchardt and the entire CALAS team on the funding and positive evaluation of the project: "This research association makes an important contribution to understanding between North and South. CALAS gives the name of the University of Kassel a special sound in the social science community of Latin America. The exchange in this project will furthermore help the internationalization of our university. For this reason, the University supports the research network with the establishment of the Kassel Latin America Center CELA, which aims to couple the international activities of CALAS with the city, the region and with all of Hesse."
 

Partner network with universities in South America

The official start of the main phase of CALAS is (today) March 1, 2019. In the start-up phase, the network has already been funded since 2017. In addition to Prof. Burchardt's department, other departments from the University of Kassel from the social sciences, Romance studies and the Institute for Vocational Education and Training are involved. Just under 6 of the 12 million euros in funding will go to Kassel. CALAS is embedded in a network of partnerships that the University of Kassel maintains with Latin American universities. Just a few weeks ago, two new cooperation projects were launched with the Universidad Nacional de San Martín in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and the University of Havana (Cuba), thanks to which about ten students and professors are exchanged each year.

CALAS was approved within the BMBF funding line "Maria Sibylla Merian Centres". With these research networks, the BMBF aims to advance the internationalization of the humanities, cultural studies, and social sciences in Germany through close bilateral and multilateral cooperation projects at locations outside Germany. CALAS was approved in 2017 as the second center ever in Germany within this funding line.  

Further information:
"Universities of Kassel and Bielefeld establish research center in Mexico", Press release of March 1, 2017:
https://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/aktuelles/aus-der-hochschule/post/detail/News/universitaeten-kassel-und-bielefeld-bauen-forschungszentrum-in-mexiko-auf/
"University partnership with Havana and Buenos Aires", Press release of March 18, 2019:
https://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/aktuelles/meldung/post/detail/News/lateinamerika-schwerpunkt-der-uni-kassel-hochschulpartnerschaft-mit-havanna-und-buenos-aires/

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Burchardt
University of Kassel
Department of International and Inter-Societal Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-3253
E-mail: magura[at]uni-kassel[dot]de

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communication, Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse@uni-kassel.de
www.uni-kassel.de