Decolonizing approaches to studying history and linguistic-cultural heritage. Methods, tools, results and challenges

This multidisciplinary research seminar embraces different areas and methods of inquiry, from history, linguistics and anthropology to engaged and participatory forms of research. Its special focus will be on the Indigenous cultures of the Americas and on ethnic/language minorities from Europe and other parts of the world. Participants include MA and PhD students as well as researchers representing different disciplines and fields of expertise. The seminar’s participants will actively engage in pursuing new studies, interpretations, understandings and uses of past and present realities in the multifaceted process of decolonization where the voices of Indigenous people and minority groups are often ignored. These voices have long been underrepresented and misrepresented not only in historical research but also in the cognate fields of anthropology, linguistics, sociology, and cultural or heritage studies. The participants will be encouraged to develop and present their own critical research relevant for multidisciplinary inquiry into history as well as (socio)linguistic and cultural studies, from within a decolonizing perspective.