area studies

Also known as regional studies, territorial studies, national studies, local studies

interdisciplinary fields of research in geography, history, culture, politics, economy, ethnology, languages and sociology, within a national, regional, or local context, in order to describe or explain its specificities

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Commons category: Area studies
Classification of Instructional Programs code: 05.01

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Area studies, also known as regional studies, is an interdisciplinary field of research and scholarship pertaining to particular geographical, national/federal, or cultural regions. The term exists primarily as a general description of what are, in the practice of scholarship, many heterogeneous fields of research, encompassing both the social sciences and the humanities. Typical area study programs involve international relations, strategic studies, history, anthropology, political science, political economy, cultural studies, languages, geography, literature, and other related disciplines. In contrast to cultural studies, area studies often include diaspora and emigration from the area in question.

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