Research Network for Interdisciplinary Regional Studies

The Research Network for Interdisciplinary Regional Studies (first) is a cooperative network of six institutes based in Lower Austria: The Ilse Arlt Institute on Social Inclusion Research at St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, the Institute of Rural History, the Institute for Jewish History in Austria, the Institute for Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture at the University of Salzburg, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on the Consequences of War (Raabs branch) and the Department for Arts and Cultural Studies at the University for Continuing Education Krems.
This network enables a synergetic implementation of the available research potential as well as participation in both national and international allocations of research funding. Thereby, it enhances the visibility of research in the humanities, social sciences, and cultural studies in Lower Austria. The research project groups aim to elaborate a historically grounded basis of knowledge to serve debates surrounding current social challenges in the thematic fields of “Migration” and “Nutrition and Inequality” (both since 2016), “Camps” (since 2020) and “Regionalities” (since 2021).
The research network is supportet by the first network management based in the Department for Art and Cultural Studies at the University for Continuing Education Krems. Since 2016, the research network has been funded by the Program for Strategy in Research, Technology and Innovation of the State of Lower Austria.