The following pages are offering an overview of the most important research institutions at Freie Universität Berlin engaging in Area Studies.

The scientific task of the Center for Area Studies (CAS) is the interdisciplinary research of transcultural phenomena and processes and the programmatic contribution to methodic-theoretical discussions on transculturality.

The modern world is characterized by exchange processes, interactions and interdependencies between different cultural regions and cannot be understood without taking into account this interlacement. The increase and concentration of transnational and transcultural relations requires a focus on regional dynamics and the diverse relations of transfer between the different regions of the world.

This view coins the research activities of the CAS, which encompass transregional as well as region-specific research-works. Transculturality serves as a scientific guiding principle, because as a cultural paradigm it not only investigates the macro-level of cultures but also focusses on the micro-level of acting individuals.