Conviviality in Unequal Societies

In April 2017, three German institutions (Freie Universität Berlin, FU Berlin; Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut/ Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, IAI/SPK, Berlin; Universität zu Köln, Univ. zu Köln, Cologne) and four Latin American institutions (Universidade de São Paulo, USP, and Centro Brasileiro de Análise e Planejamento, CEBRAP, São Paulo, Brazil; Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales - CONICET/Universidad Nacional de La Plata, IdIHCS, La Plata, Argentina; El Colegio de México, COLMEX, Mexico City, Mexico) established the Maria Sibylla Merian International Centre in São Paulo. The Centre is being financed for an initial phase of three years by a grant of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The aim of the inaugural conference is to present and discuss the Centre’s research perspective on conviviality in unequal societies in Latin America and the Caribbean with consortium partners, scholars, representatives of research institutions and the academic public in Germany.

The first day introduces the network of institutions involved in the project and the concept of the Maria Sibylla Merian International Centres for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Additionally, it addresses the contemporary debates on conviviality with a keynote lecture.

The second day continues to explore the conceptual and empirical challenges for studying conviviality in unequal societies. Here, both analytical and methodological issues are raised. According to the Centre´s focus, special attention is given to convivial contexts in Latin America and the Caribbean from a global perspective.