The Institute for Asian and African Studies (IAAW) conducts fundamental research on global challenges of the 21st century from Asian and African perspectives. Combining language proficiency with theoretical and methodological expertise, it explores global-local dynamics through a multidisciplinary lens. Under the framework of New Area Studies, the institute redefines regionality not by borders, but through socio-cultural and linguistic connections.

Its approach emphasizes the complementarity of regional focus and transregional perspectives, fostering a deeper understanding of historical, cultural, political, and linguistic interconnections across Asia and Africa. Research and teaching span topics from the local to the global, centered around three main areas: Cultural Politics, Changing Language Ecologies, and Fault Lines of Social Structures.

The IAAW offers a BA program in Asian/African Area Studies (since 2005), which integrates language training with interdisciplinary modules in society, culture, and communication. These languages, spoken by about 2.5 billion people, range from official and regional to minority and translocal languages. Since 2021, the different MA programs are being unified under the new Master’s in Asian/African Studies.

Contact person for EAAS: 
Prof. Dr. Nadja-Christina Schneider
https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/suedasien/personen/schneider
Email: nadja-christina.schneider@hu-berlin.de