Heidelberg Center for Ibero-American Studies

The Heidelberg Center for Ibero-American Studies · HCIAS is a central research institution at Heidelberg University founded in 2019. The HCIAS takes full advantage of the University’s research and teaching prowess to address interdisciplinary issues concerning Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula as well as regions with which they are historically or socioeconomically linked, such as the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, North America, and Asia.

The HCIAS’ overarching goal is the sustainable establishment of research, teaching, and knowledge transfer on, with, and in Ibero-America and its areas of contact around the guiding theme of "Spaces and Dynamics".

By approaching the macro-region of Ibero-America with consideration being given to all dimensions of academic activity, the HCIAS expands upon Heidelberg University’s existing focuses on South and East Asia, as well as on North America, and contributes to the building of the University's profile in the field of Area Studies.

At Heidelberg University, the HCIAS is located at the intersection of two main research fields in the humanities, social sciences, and behavioral sciences: "Cultural Dynamics in Globalized Worlds" (Field of Focus 3) and "Self-Regulation and Regulation: Individuals and Societies" (Field of Focus 4).

Region-specific University Structures 2001-2019. In 2001, Heidelberg University established the Heidelberg Center Latin America (HCLA) in Santiago de Chile. The HCLA has been a DAAD Excellence Center in Research and Teaching since 2009 and offers graduate programs and other degree programs in collaboration with the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the University of Chile. To further encourage scholarly dialogue with Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, the Center for Iberoamerica (IAZ) in Heidelberg was founded in 2011. As an institution of the Faculty of Modern Languages, a significant portion of the IAZ’s research activities was dedicated to the establishment of an international network for junior researchers focusing on topics related to Ibero-American languages and cultures. In 2019, the IAZ merged with the interdisciplinary HCIAS. At the HCLA, a new line of research in Advanced Studies is being planned in conjunction with the HCIAS research program.