About the Center for Humanistic and Social Sciences (CCHS), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid, Spain
The Spanish National Research Council, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. It has collaborative agreements with some leading European institutions, particularly the Max Planck Institute and the French CNRS, and also with other international research centers, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Canadian NRC. The CCHS has a formidable set of resources that include not only one of the richest research repositories in Europe, but also state-of-the-art laboratories, service units and cutting edge research infrastructure. The center occupies an area of 60,000 m2 and regularly houses about seven hundred people including scholars, researchers, and support staff. The CCHS incorporates seven different research institutes that cover major areas of research, such as literary and cultural studies, history of science, ancient Orient studies, Mediterranean studies, language and cognition, justice and citizenship, international relations, comparative politics and public policy, among others.
Objective of the program
The objective of the program is to establish a framework for academic and scholarly exchange and cooperation between the two entities named above, with the participation of specialists in the humanities and the humanistic social sciences who have identified common research interests and agendas. Each institution may offer to the other opportunities for activities and programs, such as specialized teaching, research, exchange of faculty and graduate students, in order to foster and develop a collaborative relationship. The program is open to researchers in all current humanistic disciplines at both institutions.
General areas of cooperation
WU faculty members engaged in research in the humanities or in the humanistic social sciences are encouraged to propose, in collaboration with a researcher at the CCHS, a joint scholarly venture that falls within the following general categories:
- Participation in symposia, seminars, and academic meetings;
- Exchange of faculty members for research, lectures, and discussions;
- Exchange of advanced PhD students for independent or collaborative research; and
- Joint specific educational, cultural, and research activities, including the formation of research groups based on common research interests, especially of an interdisciplinary nature.
Terms of the agreement
Specific activities and programs that may be implemented under this agreement are subject to the approval of both institutions’ authorized representatives, the availability of funds, and the following terms:
- Travel costs, lodging, and living expenses will be furnished by the visiting scholar him or herself, through a combination of his or her research funds and external grants (where available). The visitor is responsible for securing his or her own housing.
- The researcher(s) hosting the visiting scholar will promote the search for funding for those joint ventures (such as seminars and symposia) through a combination of support from his or her department or unit, relevant interdisciplinary programs, the administration of the institution, and external grants, whenever available.
- The hosting institution agrees to provide office space (including a computer) and access to the library and its databases for the visiting scholar.
- During the stay, visiting scholars and researchers will abide by the normal procedures and rules of the hosting institution.
Application procedures
Scholars interested in a joint research venture as outlined above should follow the application procedures below.
The CCHS may host the visiting researcher from WU, upon approval of his/her application by their authorized personnel, for a short-term stay free of charge at their facilities, providing him or her with access to their library holdings and space in the library to conduct the research. Interested applicants should contact the WU coordinators of this program on behalf of the Center for the Humanities, Akiko Tsuchiya or Ignacio Infante, in order to identify a scholar or group of scholars at the CCHS with common areas of research interest. Once a scholar has been identified in his or her area of research at the CCHS to host the stay, applicants must submit an application for approval, in accordance with the CCHS’s internal procedures. Because the CCHS is an international institution, facility in Spanish is not a requirement for WU faculty interested in conducting research there.
- Any advanced PhD candidate in the humanities or the humanistic social sciences at WU who has achieved ABD status may apply for the exchange program named above, with the approval of his or her dissertation advisor, the department chair, and the Office of Graduate Studies in Arts & Sciences.
- The Center for the Humanities at WU will provide the visiting scholar from CCHS, free of charge, with office space, a computer, library access (including access to all databases and Interlibrary Loan) and a forum for scholarly exchange, such as the opportunity to present a public lecture, or to participate in a seminar or a series of informal presentations. It is understood that the visitor's stay at the Center for the Humanities is not to extend beyond a period of 3 months and that s/he is responsible for securing his or her own housing. The visiting scholar is responsible for acquiring a visa on his or her own in accordance with US immigration laws, as well as his or her own health insurance for the duration of the stay in the US.
Application form for CCHS scholars applying for a stay at the WU Center for the Humanities (pdf)
Contacts
Any questions about this program may be directed to the following WU faculty members serving as coordinators on behalf of the Center for the Humanities: Prof. Akiko Tsuchiya tsuchiya@wustl.edu (Romance Languages & Literatures) or Prof. Ignacio Infante iinfante@wustl.edu (Romance Languages and Literatures and Comparative Literature).