The Merian initiative is a special initiative by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research which was launched in 2015. Its overarching aim is to support research in the Humanities and Social Sciences in the Global South by establishing and maintaining International Centres (or: Institutes) for Advanced Studies for a period of up to 12 years.
Aims of the Merian Centres
Internationalisation of Humanities, Cultural and Social Sciences
Understanding societal developments and global environmental changes from diverse perspectives
Providing a counterbalance to the current asymmetric distribution of knowledge and supporting local knowledge production
Laying the foundation for long-term cooperations of top local and global researchers
Strategy
Foundation of thematically focussed Centres for Advanced Studies in Asia, Latin America, and Africa
Organisational support from German consortia of universities and research institutes
Fellowship programmes and promotion of local early career researchers
Dissemination of knowledge and public outreach through workshops and publications
Funding phases
Preliminary phase (2-3 years)
Preparation and planning
Establishment of the Centre
Main phase (6 years)
Thematically focused research
Local, German and international fellows
Conclusion phase (3-4 years)
Current Merian Centres
Delhi, India – Metamorphoses of the Political (established in July 2015)
Guadalajara, Mexico – Coping with Crises (established in March 2017)
Sao Paulo, Brazil – Conviviality in Unequal Societies (established in April 2017)
Accra, Ghana – Sustainable Governance (established in March 2018)
Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian (2 April 1647 – 13 January 1717) was a German-born naturalist and scientific illustrator. Merian was one of the first naturalists to observe insects directly. Because of her careful observations and documentation of the metamorphosis of the butterfly, she is considered to be among the most significant contributors to the field of entomology.
From left to right:
Insectes Surinam (1705), drawing of Anna Maria Sibylla Merian published in ”Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium” (1705).
Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium (1705), Source: “Das kleine Buch der Tropenwunder”, Insel Verlag Leipzig Wiesbaden 1954.
Portrait of Maria Sibylla Merian by Georg Gsell, Source: “Erucarum ortus, alimentum et paradoxa metamorphosis”, Johannes Oosterwijk, Amsterdam (1718).
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