Heidelberg Center for Ibero-American Studies

At the HCIAS, we conceive Ibero-America as a macro-region, with Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula at its core, but which relates to the areas with which it has close historical, cultural, political, or socioeconomic ties. Within the framework of "Spaces and Dynamics in Ibero-America", we approach Ibero-America’s social, cultural, and environmental realities, with all their continuities, transformations, ruptures, and internal & external interconnections that shape the networks, institutions, and modes & means of communication of this macro-region. Our transversal research program unites a variety of disciplines from the social sciences, the humanities, and environmental sciences that, from different angles, aim to contribute to an integral description and analysis conducive to a better understanding of "Ibero-America".

Knowledge transfer is one of the central pillars of the HCIAS’ internal philosophy. The center is committed to the dissemination of scientific works and the promotion of academic and social dialog both amongst the scientific community and the general public. To this end, the HCIAS runs its own publications platform producing content such as public-access working papers and a scientific blog.

The HCIAS aims to establish sustainable research, teaching, and knowledge transfer on the social, cultural, and linguistic complexity in the macro region of Ibero-America at Heidelberg University. To this end, the HCIAS is building networks for interdisciplinary cooperation with partners both within the university, as well as abroad. The international profile of the HCIAS is oriented towards project-related cooperation with domestic and international institutions and centers, membership in institutionalized networks, and cooperation with non-university partners.

The Heidelberg Center for Ibero-American Studies · HCIAS is a central research institution at Heidelberg University. The HCIAS was designed at the intersection of the university’s two main research fields in the humanities and social sciences, “Cultural Dynamics in Globalized Worlds” and "Self-Regulation and Regulation: Individuals and Societies", and established in September 2019. Taking full advantage of the university’s research and teaching prowess, at the HCIAS, we address interdisciplinary issues concerning the macro-region of Ibero-America, with Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula at its core and the areas with which there are close historical, cultural, political, or socioeconomic ties, such as the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, or the US.