Austrian Latin America Institute
Encyclopedia
The Austrian Latin America Institute (Österreichisches Lateinamerika-Institut, LAI) is an interdisciplinary orientated organisation, aiming at intensifying dialogue and exchange between Austria
and Latin America
. It was founded as an association in 1965 and receives subsidies for its work in development politics as well as scientific and cultural events and projects. About half of the annual budget originates from its own resources, mainly language courses as well as membership fees. In 1994 the institute moved to the historic Palais Schlick in Vienna
's 9th district Alsergrund
.
. This is the only "university level" course about Latin America in Austria. The degree is Master of Arts
in Latin American studies
.
and documentation centre in Austria specializing in Latin America. The collection focuses on specialist books and journals on economy, politics, history, culture, society and ecology of the Latin American countries. Furthermore it has literary works by Latin American authors in Spanish and Portuguese and their translations. The library represents Austria in REDIAL
.
for Spanish
, Portuguese
and Indigenous languages
offering about 300 courses annually.
. The Study-Group was founded in 1983 by members of the Austrian Latin America Institute and is partner of CEISAL (Consejo Europeo de Investigaciones Sociales de América Latina).
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. It was founded as an association in 1965 and receives subsidies for its work in development politics as well as scientific and cultural events and projects. About half of the annual budget originates from its own resources, mainly language courses as well as membership fees. In 1994 the institute moved to the historic Palais Schlick in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
's 9th district Alsergrund
Alsergrund
Alsergrund is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria . It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. The area is densely populated, with a lot of government-built housing. According to the census of 2001, there were...
.
Interdisciplinary Master Degree Programme in Latin-American Studies
The Austrian Latin America Institute coordinates the Interdisciplinary Master Degree Programme in Latin-American Studies (Interdisziplinärer Universitätslehrgang für Höhere Lateinamerika-Studien) in cooperation with the University of ViennaUniversity of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. This is the only "university level" course about Latin America in Austria. The degree is Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Latin American studies
Latin American Studies
Latin American studies is an academic discipline dealing with the study of Latin America and Latin Americans.-Definition:Latin American studies critically examines the history, culture, politics, and experiences of Latin Americans in Latin America and often also elsewhere .Latin American studies...
.
Library
The Austrian Latin America Institute has the only libraryLibrary
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
and documentation centre in Austria specializing in Latin America. The collection focuses on specialist books and journals on economy, politics, history, culture, society and ecology of the Latin American countries. Furthermore it has literary works by Latin American authors in Spanish and Portuguese and their translations. The library represents Austria in REDIAL
REDIAL
REDIAL , the European Network of Information and Documentation on Latin America is an association formed by 43 libraries and documentation centres in 12 European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland...
.
Language Courses
The Austrian Latin America Institute is Austria's largest language schoolLanguage school
A language school is a school where one studies a foreign language. Classes at a language school are usually geared towards, but not limited to, communicative competence in a foreign language...
for Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and Indigenous languages
Indigenous languages of the Americas
Indigenous languages of the Americas are spoken by indigenous peoples from Alaska and Greenland to the southern tip of South America, encompassing the land masses which constitute the Americas. These indigenous languages consist of dozens of distinct language families as well as many language...
offering about 300 courses annually.
Information service
The Austrian Latin America Institute offers information and advice to all people interested in Latin America and Latin American students in particular.Events
The event calendar includes exhibitions, book presentations, concerts, lectures and discussions.Austrian Study-Group for Latin-American Research
The Austrian Latin America Institute itself is no research institute, but it supports the Austrian Study-Group for Latin-American Research (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Österreichische Lateinamerikaforschung). The object of this association is scientific networking, interdisciplinary exchange and cooperation of researchers in Austria. It regards itself as an open forum offering young scientists the opportunity to present and discuss their work. In 2007 the Study-Group had 108 members from Austria, Europe and Latin America. The annual conference is held in Strobl am WolfgangseeStrobl
Strobl is a municipality of the Salzburg-Umgebung District , in the northeastern portion of the Austrian state of Salzburg, right on the border with Upper Austria...
. The Study-Group was founded in 1983 by members of the Austrian Latin America Institute and is partner of CEISAL (Consejo Europeo de Investigaciones Sociales de América Latina).
Publications
- Atención: Jahrbuch des Österreichischen Lateinamerika-Instituts. Yearbook with scholarly articles in German, Spanish and English
- Investigaciones: Forschungen zu Lateinamerika. Publication by the Austrian Study-Group for Latin-American Research in which master thesis and dissertations are made accessible to a wider audience
Literature
- Marcus Klein: Marcus Klein: “Latin America Studies in Austria: An Overview“, in: Revista Europea de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe (Ed. by CEDLA, University of Amsterdam), 72, April 2002.
- Gerhard Drekonja-Kornat (Ed.): Lateinamerikanistik – der österreichische Weg. LIT, Münster u. a. 2005, ISBN 3825886514.