Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation

The inter-university Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation (CEDLA) was founded in 1964 at the University of Amsterdam. In 1971 CEDLA became an inter-university institute with its activities carried out on a national scope. For information on our current activities, see Events, Research and Courses. The CEDLA Annual Report 2011 was published in August 2012. Our Objectives - to carry out social science research on Latin America in the disciplines of cultural anthropology, economics, history, political science, human geography and sociology - to further the effective coordination of social science research - to extend and increase knowledge about the societies and cultures of Latin America - to further scientific teaching on Latin America in the above-mentioned disciplines - to collect books, journals and other source materials relevant to the study and documentation of Latin American themes within the social science. An important task of CEDLA is to carry out social science research on Latin America. Six disciplines, cultural anthropology, economics, history, political science, human geography and sociology make up the research programme. Each major discipline is represented by at least one member of the CEDLA academic staff. Research CEDLA research focuses on the processes of change in Latin America. Research is coordinated from within one overall programme, entitled Natural and Cultural Resource Use in Contemporary Latin America. Other Activities: CERES, NALACS There is considerable and continuous contact at the research level with foreign universities and research institutes specializing in Latin America. Within the Netherlands, CEDLA is associated with the national research school CERES (Research School for Resource Studies for Development, Utrecht University). At the national level, CEDLA acts as secretariat for the Netherlands Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Werkgemeenschap Latijns Amerika en het Caraïbisch Gebied - NALACS. It has as its objective the promotion of research on Latin America and the Caribbean in the social sciences and the humanities within an interdisciplinary framework. From 1985 to 1988 CEDLA acted as the secretariat for the 46th International Congress of Americanists held in 1988 in Amsterdam.