Areapedia
An Online Encyclopaedia and Living Handbook on Area Studies
Currently in development.
Areapedia is a forthcoming open-access reference platform developed by the Leibniz ScienceCampus Europe and America in the Modern World.
About Areapedia
Areapedia is an online encyclopaedia and living handbook developed by the Leibniz ScienceCampus Europe and America in Regensburg, a joint initiative of the University of Regensburg and the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS).
The platform provides accessible, current and critical overviews of key terms, concepts and debates in area studies for audiences ranging from students to senior researchers.
Areapedia offers critical reflections on major concepts, methods and debates within the field. It also explores the diverse historical development and contemporary practice of area studies across different world regions. By bringing together perspectives from and about the regions under study, the project creates a space for conceptual, theoretical and empirical exchange.
As an inherently multidisciplinary field, area studies intersects with numerous academic disciplines. Areapedia therefore also examines the relationships between area studies and neighbouring disciplines, encouraging dialogue across institutional and methodological boundaries.
Repositioning Area Studies
Areapedia contributes to a critical repositioning of area studies. The project turns the lens of area studies toward Europe and North America while situating these regions within global entanglements, comparative perspectives and shifting relations of knowledge production. In doing so, Areapedia challenges traditional distinctions between sites associated with theory production and those treated primarily as objects of empirical research.
The contributions are clustered into three formats:
#AREA
A toolbox of critical key terms, concepts and methods
These entries form the core glossary of the living handbook. They provide concise and accessible reflections on central concepts, approaches and methods in area studies in its broadest sense. Editorially proposed topics may be complemented by user-generated suggestions and future additions.
@AREA
Reflections on area studies as a globally diverse field
These entries trace historical developments and contemporary practices of area studies around the world. They address asymmetries in knowledge production, institutional histories and shifting research agendas. Contributions may discuss canonical works and established centres while also highlighting overlooked regions, actors and intellectual traditions.
&AREA
Explorations of relations between disciplines and area studies
These entries focus on the relationship between area studies and specific academic disciplines. They examine how area studies is positioned within different scholarly contexts and promote cross-disciplinary dialogue, creating foundations for empirical, methodological and conceptual collaboration.
Open Formats and Contributions
Areapedia welcomes contributions in a variety of formats. Entries may take the form of concise reference texts, longer essays or multimedia contributions including images, graphics, audio and video materials.
There is no fixed length for entries. Contributions may be brief or extensive, depending on the topic and intended purpose.
Editorial Process and Open Science
The international editorial team brings together contributors from different disciplines and career stages. Entries are reviewed in cooperation with subject specialists through a single-blind peer review process.
All content will be published as open access and supported by DOI registration and extensive metadata in line with FAIR principles.
Project Background
Areapedia emerges from the research agenda of the Leibniz ScienceCampus Europe and America, a joint platform of the University of Regensburg and the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies. The project develops conceptual, methodological and theoretical contributions from around the world and places particular emphasis on their intersection with empirical and practical application.
Status
Further information on the platform, editorial process and future contributions will be published soon.