On 22 May, the Charles University Faculty of Arts (CU FA) hosted the kick-off meeting of the ERA-AREAS project, supported by the prestigious ERA Chair scheme under the Horizon Europe programme. The five-year project aims to establish the Centre for Multidisciplinary Area Studies (CEMAS), which will serve as a platform for research on current societal developments in non-European regions and contribute to further enhancement of the faculty’s international profile.
“Charles University has long strived to strengthen its research capacities in areas with global significance. I am very pleased that the Faculty of Arts has succeeded in securing the prestigious ERA-AREAS project, which is an excellent example of how international-level science can help address today’s pressing challenges,“ said Professor Milena Králíčková, Rector of Charles University, who had attended the introductory meeting.
ERA-AREAS will support Area Studies programmes currently offered at CU FA, including Asian, East European, Middle Eastern, African, and Latin American Studies. “Our faculty’s Area Studies are based on a unique and longstanding tradition, grounded in linguistic, philological, and cultural approaches to research and teaching about non-European regions. Through its research, project, and popularisation activities, ERA-AREAS will help complement these fields and create a comprehensive humanities and social sciences framework. Our goal is to support our Area Studies in multiple ways, taking advantage of the faculty’s exceptional geographic coverage,” explained CU FA Dean Eva Lehečková.
A new research team will be formed as part of the project, tasked with connecting scholars from various humanities and social science disciplines and attracting top researchers from around the world. This ambition is supported by the project’s international advisory board – ASIAB – composed of leading globally recognized experts: Professor Paul Chaisty (University of Oxford), Dr Andrés Malamud (University of Lisbon), Professor Anja Osei (Freie Universität Berlin), Professor Nicola C. Pratt (University of Warwick), and Professor Marco Bünte (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg). These scholars represent a wide range of regional expertise and were selected for their experience in comparative research both within and across individual global regions, as comparative approach lies at the core of the ERA-AREAS project.
“The involvement of top-tier scholars will significantly enrich our Area Studies programmes and provide a vital boost to our PhD programmes and to the academic profile of Area Studies at CU FA as a whole. At the same time, we aim to systematically expand project support for further grant schemes and expand activities directed toward the general public, state administration, and future students,” said Associate Professor Karel Kouba, the project’s principal researcher and Vice-Dean for Project and Grant Management at CU FA. The project also draws inspiration from similar Area Studies centres at universities abroad.
The ERA Chair holder is Professor Mariana Llanos, leading expert on Latin American politics, affiliated with the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg – Germany’s largest research institution dedicated to Area Studies. “I am excited to be part of this transformative project focused on Area Studies at CU FA and to contribute to the creation of scholarly environment open to international and interdisciplinary collaboration. I believe ERA-AREAS will help foster a deeper understanding of the challenges currently faced by global regions,” said Professor Llanos.
The ERA Chair in Multidisciplinary Area Studies (ERA-AREAS) project, reg. no. 101185327, is funded under the European Commission call HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-TALENTS-01.
More information about the project can be found:
From Argentina to Prague: Llanos on Democracy & ERA Chair (interview)
