Critical Dictionary

The Online Dictionary „Social and Political Key Terms of the Americas“ is online now.

Click here: Critical Dictionary

This online dictionary charts the emerging field of inter-American or Hemispheric American Studies by discussing key concepts and issues as well as theoretical and methodological approaches from a broad interdisciplinary perspective of social, political and cultural studies.

It is a project of the Center for InterAmerican Studies http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/cias/, Bielefeld University and the International Doctoral Program “Global Social Policies and Governance“ http://www.social-globalization.uni-kassel.de/ at Kassel University.

Through this dictionary, we aim to generate and systematize knowledge about the Americas for scholars, students, and social actors in ways that account for the cultural, social, political and economic differences and conflicts within the Americas as well as for the ever-increasing and multi-layered processes of integration and
transnationalization.

From an innovative transnational and comparative perspective, the online dictionary focuses on a broad range of cultural, political, and social dynamics in the Americas. Every entry of the dictionary takes into account the different meanings and historical dimensions the same concept can have in the North (in the US or Canada) or the South (in the different regions of Latin America and the Caribbean) or in between. The online dictionary deals with political power and domination, social inequalities, work and social policies, social movements and transnational networks, and international economy and dependency in the context of dynamic inter-American relations.

By now the dictionary has more than 30 entries — all characterized by a high academic standard.

Below every entry you can find instructions on how to quote the article.

We included the possibility of comments in every article. We hope that you will make use of this option.

We want to open a second round for new entries. If you are interested in writing an entry on an inter-American key term or if you know any colleagues who can do so, please do not hesitate to contact us: interamerican_wiki@uni-bielefeld.de

Olaf Kaltmeier, Hans-Jürgen Burchhardt, Anne Tittor