Rosario Institute for Arab and Islamic World Studies

Institutional record

Founded

2011 · Resolution 274/2011

Reports to

Rectorate, National University of Rosario

Based in

Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina

Team

More than twenty researchers

Works with

GEMO and PRECSUR — School of Political Science and International Relations (UNR)

Publication

Middle East and North Africa Observatory

§ 01

What IREMAI is

The Rosario Institute for Arab and Islamic World Studies (IREMAI) was created in 2011, by Resolution 274/2011, as an academic space reporting to the Rectorate of the National University of Rosario. It currently works together with the Middle East Studies Group (GEMO) within the South-South Relations and Cooperation Programme (PRECSUR), at the School of Political Science and International Relations.

It is a multidisciplinary academic space designed to encourage, strengthen and consolidate cultural ties through academic cooperation, chiefly between universities.

With a team of more than twenty researchers, it promotes Latin American studies and works to place Rosario, the province and the region within the national and regional spaces of the countries it studies, driving deeper and more fruitful integration.

§ 02

Principles

The institute’s academic cooperation rests on three principles:

• ◆ Respecting the cultural diversity, history, religions, traditions and politics of everyone involved.
• ◆ Promoting the coordination and planning of academic activities and the training of human resources on subjects of mutual interest.
• ◆ Establishing solid, reliable channels for joint work with other countries and universities from a range of disciplinary perspectives: international relations, politics, history, law, economics, language and religion.

§ 03

Objectives

Drawing on the specialised expertise available across the UNR, the institute sets itself three objectives:

1. 01 To encourage cooperation within the UNR and with academic units across the broad universe of Arab and Islamic world studies, in Argentina and Latin America as well as the rest of the world.
2. 02 To promote Latin American studies and place Rosario, the province and the region within the national and regional spaces of the countries under study, working towards deeper and more fruitful integration.
3. 03 To strengthen academic and professional training.

§ 04

Research lines

The subjects it addresses —historical and religious legacy, ancient civilisations, ancient and contemporary literature, cultural tradition, state formation in comparative perspective, the development of civil societies, political and religious movements, economic and commercial development, international insertion and comparative foreign policies, geopolitics and international order— are channelled into five avenues of research:

1. 01 Cultural, linguistic and religious studies.
2. 02 Political and social studies.
3. 03 Economic and commercial relations.
4. 04 Insertion into global arenas and international cooperation.
5. 05 Scientific and technological cooperation.

§ 05

Activities

To put its principles and objectives into practice, IREMAI carries out research, teaching and outreach. Research takes shape in programmes across the disciplinary perspectives above, including specific projects that open the way to better scientific and technological cooperation. Teaching covers both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with courses that cut across the UNR’s degree programmes. Outreach and participation in local, national and international cooperation projects are essential components of the academic project.

Concretely, the institute sets out to:

• ◆ Organise international seminars and conferences between both regions on areas of mutual interest.
• ◆ Exchange faculty, students and graduates, promoting teaching placements abroad and drawing on the cultural capital and experience built through the exchange of knowledge.
• ◆ Build a physical and virtual library to support these activities, and publish research findings in print or digital form.
• ◆ Open up the UNR’s postgraduate offering —including the PhD in International Relations, based at the School of Political Science and International Relations— for the training of human resources.
• ◆ Recognise credits from seminars taught at the university and at universities in Arab countries that join the cooperation network, alongside joint research projects.
• ◆ Develop activities for mutual language learning, through the Language Department of the UNR’s School of Humanities and Arts and through further study at centres, institutes and universities across the Arab and Islamic world.

§ 06

GEMO and PRECSUR

IREMAI works together with the Middle East Studies Group (GEMO) of the UNR’s School of Political Science and International Relations, within the South-South Relations and Cooperation Programme (PRECSUR). GEMO coordinates the observatory’s output, organises seminars and sustains the academic calendar.

That partnership produces the seminar on religion, politics and economics in the international relations of the Middle East and North Africa, taught within the UNR’s International Relations degree.

§ 07

The Observatory

The Middle East and North Africa Observatory is the institute’s periodical, edited by IREMAI’s junior researchers. It tracks politics, security, economics and cybersecurity across the region, with sections devoted to each country.

This site replaces the institute’s old website. It brings together the full archive, the new editorial formats —breaking news, live coverage, immersive features, analysis with bibliography— and bilingual distribution. We publish from Rosario under a CC BY-NC licence: no advertising, no trackers, no paywall.