AreaS is a transdisciplinary research group for Area Studies. It was established in June 2016 and is a part of the Department of Languages, Literature and Culture at Østfold University College (HiØ), Norway.
AreaS is open for colleagues from other departements and faculties at the college, as well as from other institutions. The focus of the group is the analysis of physical and abstract areas. “Physical areas” refer to continental, subcontinental, national or subnational dimensions. “Abstract areas” refer to political, cultural, economic, historical or linguistic constructions that in one way or another have been or are tied to and integrated within territories.
Trough book publications, seminars and active participation to the public debate, AreaS promotes democratic principles and analyzes of how these principles can be strengthened or undermined.
AreaS gives priority to interdisciplinary approaches in the study of areas, drawing on disciplines such as political science, economy, geography, civilization studies, sociology and language.
AreaS emphasizes linguistic variation. The group publishes primarily in Norwegian and English, but additional languages relevant for the analysis of a specific area are utilized. This is reflected in the group’s blog.
AreaS has expertise in the following areas (see Members below for direct contacts):
- Western and Eastern Europe (EU, Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Poland)
- The Middle East (Israel, Iran)
- Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark)
- The Arctic and Island.
- USA
- French speaking countries
- Latin-America