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Columbia University Regional Institutes & Centers
Institute of African
Studies
Founded in 1959, the Institute of African Studies provides an intellectual
forum for Africa-related activities, outside the classroom.
It brings speakers and visiting scholars to the campus,
organizes conferences, and serves as a resource center for students seeking opportunities to work, study, and travel in Africa.
The institute concentrates on sub-Saharan Africa, while North Africa
is included in the programs of the Middle East Institute.
The Center for Brazilian
Studies
The Center for Brazilian Studies is intended to serve as a regular
platform for government officials, business representatives, union leaders,
and politicians visiting from Brazil. The center also attracts
Brazilian academics, students, and faculty for periods of up to a year
in which they focus on their research, interact with their counterparts
at Columbia, as well as speak publicly about their research results.
Finally, the center serves as a focal point for American students and
faculty with deep interest in, and knowledge of, Brazil.
Center for Iranian Studies
The Center for Iranian Studies was founded in 1968 and is the foremost academic research center in Iranian studies in the United States. The main focus of its activities is an extensive program of scholarly publications, notably the Encyclopaedia Iranica and the Tabari Translation Series. The Center also sponsors or arranges art exhibitions, film screenings, musical performances, and occasional lectures for students, staff and the community.
The East Central European
Center
The East Central European Center was established in 1954 to promote
the study of the modern history, politics, languages, cultures, and societies
of the region. It does so in cooperation with various departments at
the University and by arranging for supplemental instruction by visiting
and adjunct professors. The center sponsors courses, symposia, conferences,
and lectures by prominent scholars and practitioners.
The Harriman
Institute
The Harriman Institute is the oldest and largest academic center of
its kind in the United States, devoted to the interdisciplinary study
of Russia and the other successor states of the former Soviet Union,
East Central Europe, and the Balkans. The institute's mandate is to
advance scholarly knowledge and public understanding of the polities,
economies, societies, and cultures of the Eurasian landmass extending
from the Elbe to the Pacific, and from the Arctic to Afghanistan. Towards
this end, the institute promotes advanced research and publicly disseminates
information, analysis, and opinion generated by its faculty, fellows,
students, and other affiliated scholars.
The
Donald and Vera Blinken European Institute
The European Institute, established in 1947, has been rededicated as the Donald and Vera Blinken European Institute, thanks to a gift from Ambassador Donald and Vera Blinken in 2011. The
Blinken European
Institute promotes research and learning on the cultural, political,
and socioeconomic issues facing Europe, both inside the EU and in its
wider international context. The institute organizes a wide range of
activities during the academic year, including formal courses, conferences,
colloquia, and lectures by distinguished academics and policymakers.
Institute of Latin American
Studies
The Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) is the center for Latin
America policy development and research at Columbia University. The
institute provides its students and faculty with access to the resources
of one of the major policy institutions in the world. ILAS also serves
as a focal point for a network of Latin American and U.S. scholars engaged
in dialogue on a wide range of issues.
Middle East Institute
The Middle East Institute of Columbia University, founded in 1954,
has helped to set the national pace in developing an interdisciplinary
approach to the study of the Middle East, from the rise of Islam to the
present, with a primary focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Fostering
an interregional and multidisciplinary approach to the region, the
institute focuses on the Arab countries, Armenia, Iran, Israel, Turkey,
Central Asia, and Muslim diaspora communities.
South
Asian Institute
The South Asian Institute coordinates the many activities at Columbia
University that relate to Southern Asia, mainly the countries of India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Its
conferences, seminars, exhibits, films, and lecture series bring together
faculty and students with widely varying interests and backgrounds.
Weatherhead East
Asian Institute
Since its establishment in 1949, Columbia University's East Asian Institute
has been a major center for research, teaching, and publishing on modern
and contemporary Asia Pacific activities, covering China, Japan, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, the Korean peninsula, and the countries of Southeast Asia.
The institute is affiliated with Columbia's schools of business, law,
international and public affairs, and Arts and Sciences, bringing together
over fifty full-time faculty, a diverse group of visiting scholars and
professionals, and more than 250 students from the United States and
abroad.