About us

The Centre for Atlantic and Global Studies is an interdisciplinary research and study centre at the Faculty of Humanities of the Leibniz Universität Hannover. It brings together members of the Departments of English and American Studies, Romance Languages and Literatures, History, Sociology, Cultural Anthropology and Religious Studies.

The Centre for Atlantic and Global Studies has grown from a long-standing interdisciplinary cooperation among the working group "Transformation Studies - Societal Transformation in Periphery and Core", and it aims to enhance the group’s presence on the German and international research landscapes.

The centre has a regional focus on the Atlantic World, i.e. Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and North America. Within this context, special attention is given to the relations between South and North and to the entanglements within the "Global South". Researchers at the centre understand the Atlantic as a geographical intersection and contact zone between Africa, Europe and the Americas, rather than an "area" in the traditional sense of "Area Studies".  They regard the Atlantic as a space shaped by social, economic, political and cultural activities. Since the 15th century, the circulation of people, goods, cultural practices, knowledge and ideas has turned the Atlantic into a site of contestation, exchange and transformation of an increasingly worldwide nature – a process that would be called nowadays “globalization”. The Hannover concept approaches the Atlantic as an “open” space: a sociotope and regional starting point shaped by the many and mutual links with other world regions (see also: “research fields”).

The staff of the Centre for Atlantic and Global Studies set up and run the Master´s programme of Atlantic Studies in History, Culture and Society. This degree, which was established in 2009, stands out through interdisciplinary co-teaching, international visiting lecturers and diverse opportunities for students to spend time abroad (studies, research, internships; see ( “Information for Students”).

Every winter term, the Centre for Atlantic and Global Studies runs a series of lectures entitled "The Atlantic as Historical Space". A research colloquium open to university members and the general public also takes place each semester featuring German and international visiting lecturers as well as doctoral students. The centre regularly conducts workshops on current trends and turns in Atlantic research. Furthermore, colleagues at the centre organize international conferences and edit joint publications. It is the ambition of the Centre for Atlantic and Global Studies to facilitate a North-South academic dialogue which all participants have equal access and can contribute. It therefore fosters research and teaching relations with many universities in the Atlantic World.

 

First Annual Report: download here.

Second Annual Report: download here.

 

The CAGS is part of CALAS (Center for Advanced Latin American Studies, a BMBF supported Maria Sibylla Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences) with seat in Guadalajara, Mexico. This is a cooperation of the German Universities Bielefeld, Kassel, Jena and Hanover, with the Latin American Universities Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico; Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica; Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina; and the Facultad Latinoamericana en Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), Quito, Ecuador.

It researches the topic "Mapping Crisis: Perspectives from Latin America", with working groups on: 1.) Coping with Environmental Crises, 2.) Confronting Social Inequality, 3.) Dealing with Violence – Resolving Conflicts, 4.) Regional Identities in Multiple Crises.

 

The CAGS is member of CrossArea e.V.

The Leibniz Universität Hannover is member of the Forum Transregionale Studien, on initiative of the CAGS.