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Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS)

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Area Studies Remapped

If we can no longer conceive of areas as distinct geographical regions, how can the study of area be re-thought? How can areas be mapped in ways that do not just emphasise their internal and external borders, but also their fluidity and contestation, their fringes and margins, their multiplicity and their transversal flows? In addressing these questions, this initiative draws together a series of related movements across the fields of Area Studies, Modern Languages, Geography, History, the History of Art, Politics and International Relations, Archaeology and Anthropology, and beyond.

The IAS coordinates the following research centres/networks.

african fabrics

Africa Research Centre

ARC serves as a nexus of collegial interaction and education for ongoing projects across the continent. 
 

Chinese dragon on corner of a roof

China Researchers Network

A space for academics & students from across the university whose research relates to China

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Centre for French and Francophone Research

CFFR provides a showcase for the diversity of French and Francophone studies in a global context across UCL.

person looking at night sky

Centre for Outer Space Studies

COSS was founded in 2019 to promote research and teaching related to the social study of space and our relationship to the cosmos and the planet.

colourful tiles in Iran

Middle East Research Centre

MERC provides a focal point for in-depth research and teaching related to the Middle East and North Africa, and its intersection with the wider world, from antiquity to the present. 

Refuge in a Moving World logo

Refuge in a Moving World

RiMW brings together experts on displacement, refugees and conflict from across UCL, to help us better understand the history, causes, experiences, representations and implications of these shifts in politics, people and perceptions.

mosaic tiles in south asia

Centre for the Study of South Asia and the Indian Ocean World

CSSA promotes research & teaching related to the geographical region of South Asia and its intersections with the wider world.