Science and Research
< The IAI
Science and Research at the Ibero-American Institute
The combination of research, research assistance, conferences and publications defines the scientific profile of the IAI. It provides researchers with a unique fund of books, journals, bequests and special collections on the Ibero-American cultural area, and it also provides excellent institutional facilities, competent assistance and an inspiring interdisciplinary working atmosphere.
Research activities at the IAI are based on three principles: First, as a non-university center, the Institute endeavors to build bridges among the plurality of academic disciplines by interlinking them through research on specific issues. Second, the IAI is committed to cooperating with other university and nonuniversity institutions that carry out research on Latin-American and Iberian topics on a national and international level. Third, wherever possible, the IAI places emphasis on the practice of “researching with” instead of “researching into”.
The research activities of the IAI concentrate on archaeological, anthropological, historical, literary, cultural, linguistic and political issues. In the years 2015 — 2020, the main focus of research activities of the IAI deals with "Knowledge Production and Cultural Transfers: Latin America in Trans-regional Contexts". The researchers of the IAI are also involved with individual projects on other topics.
Each year numerous international visiting scholars conduct research at the IAI. Many of them are supported by grants from funding institutions such as the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH, Alexander-von-Humboldt-Stiftung) or from their national scientific foundations and universities. The scientific staff of the IAI involves the visiting scholars in its scientific activities and debates. They have the opportunity to present and discuss their research projects in an interdisciplinary academic colloquium that takes place on a regular basis. On the other hand, the visiting scholars pay off for the Institute as they introduce their expertise, stimulate the discussion of new academic topics, participate in events and publications and strengthen the international networks of the IAI.
The IAI awards ten to twelve grants each year to support a one to three months research stay in Berlin. These grants are intended to give scholars the opportunity to use the IAI’s library holdings for their research, and to establish contact with colleagues in Germany. The Institute awards grants in response to individual applications or calls for applications on specific topics. The minimum requirement for obtaining a grant is a university degree at the time of the application. Furthermore, the IAI invites Fellows who bring in their expertise in the development of new research projects of the Institute.
The IAI publishes a wide range of books and scientific journals in German, Spanish, Portuguese, and English. These publications are the result of the Institute’s own research activities, conferences held at the IAI, cooperative projects with other research institutions as well as texts based on the outstanding work of individual scholars. The IAI publishes three series of monographs and collections on Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese literatures and languages, history, culture, social anthropology, economy, and politics (Bibliotheca Ibero-Americana, Estudios Indiana, Biblioteca Luso-Brasileira). The Institute also publishes monographs and collections in cooperation with national and international partners. Furthermore, the IAI publishes three scientific journals (Iberoamericana. América Latina — España — Portugal, Indiana, Revista Internacional de Lingüística Iberoamericana) and several online publications (Ibero-Analysen, Ibero-Bibliographien, Ibero-Online).