IAI research on Latin America/the Caribbean from a transregional perspective
From 2025 to 2030, research activities at the IAI will focus on the research line "Knowledge – Cultures – Medialities. Latin America and the Caribbean in a Transregional Perspective". It draws on the institute's collections and addresses relevant global social challenges.
Wissen – Kulturen – Medialitäten. Lateinamerika und die Karibik in transregionaler Perspektive
From 2025 to 2030, research activities at the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut (Ibero-American Institute, IAI) will be guided by the research line "Knowledge – Cultures – Medialities. Latin America and the Caribbean in a Transregional Perspective." The research program focuses on three areas: 1) "Knowledge Production and Knowledge Circulation," 2) "Cultural Production and Cultural Transfer," and 3) "Controversial Cultural Heritage." These topics correspond to the profile of the IAI and its role within the SPK network. They draw on the institute's collections and existing scientific expertise, on its networks and collaborations, take current scientific debates into account, and address relevant global social challenges.
Topic area 1: Knowledge production and knowledge circulation
The IAI is, in its configuration, a unique place, where knowledge production in and about Latin America and the Caribbean can be found in a variety of media, both analog and digital, not only in the form of books, journals, and newspapers, but also in the form of estates, image documents, sound recordings, institutional archives, maps, graphics, and other collections. Against this backdrop, this thematic area analyzes the processes of knowledge production and circulation in and about Latin America and the Caribbean, which are characterized by inequalities and transregional interdependencies. This requires a comprehensive understanding of social debates surrounding the recognition of diversity and difference, as well as consideration of the opportunities and risks of digital transformation.
Topic area 2: Cultural production and cultural transfer
This thematic area analyzes the players, intermediary groups, and institutions involved in cultural production and transfer in Latin America and the Caribbean, asking what role they play in raising awareness of the region's cultural production in Europe, particularly in Germany. Another topic being explored relates to how technological, cultural, political, and social changes influence medialities, intermedialities, and forms of representation in Latin America and the Caribbean, and what opportunities and challenges arise from the digital transformation for cultural production and distribution channels as well as for (trans)regional cultural transfer.
Topic area 3: Controversial cultural heritage
In recent times, collections and collecting institutions such as museums, libraries, and archives have become the starting point for social debates about tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The IAI's research is based on a practice-oriented concept of cultural heritage that emphasizes accessibility, participation, and multiple perspectives in dealing with cultural objects and media. Key questions in the context of this topic area are: What conceptualizations, social debates, legal frameworks, processes, and practices exist in Europe and Latin America/the Caribbean with regard to cultural heritage? What mutual learning processes are possible between Germany/Europe and Latin America/the Caribbean in dealing with tangible and intangible cultural heritage? What strategies are museums, libraries, and archives developing to increase access to their collections, improve participation, and promote processes of recirculation, reappropriation, and restitution of objects?
Implementation of the research line
The IAI will incorporate the main topics of the research line in a variety of ways into its activities and the further development of its areas of work. The acquisition of third-party funding plays a central role in this. In addition, there are further research activities, publications, and lectures, as well as the organization of conferences, symposia, workshops, and exhibitions. The IAI's institutional publication program and visiting scholar program (including IAI scholarships and fellowships) also make important contributions to the topics covered by the research line. A multidisciplinary lecture series on the research topic helps to relate different disciplinary perspectives to the three subject areas and link them together. The aim is also to bring more strongly discipline-oriented research into a productive exchange with regional research.
Dialogue between science, society, and politics
An important aspect of the research line is the dialogue between science, society, and politics. We want to show how important knowledge about and the exchange of experiences with Latin America and the Caribbean are for shaping our own present and future in Germany and Europe. The IAI aims to strengthen this link between Latin American and Caribbean studies and German and European debates through its research line.
