The research institute of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Maastricht University analyses societies and cultures as they unfolded during the modern and contemporary era in an explicitly interdisciplinary manner. We study the interrelationships between Europeanisation, globalisation, scientific and technological development, political change and cultural innovation.

Bearing in mind the historical dimension of these processes, we investigate how today’s societies reflect and respond to them in various ways. The phenomena we study include artistic practices, forms of remembrance, and cultural ideologies; various modes of political governance, co-operation, and integration; strategies for managing knowledge, technologies, and risks; and how societies create linkages between people and localities across the globe.

Our research thus aims to create a deep understanding of pressing societal issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. Our ability to mobilise a breadth of expertise from different fields in the humanities and social sciences, united in one faculty, makes us distinct and unique in the ways we seek to discover and transmit knowledge and understanding.

In this annual report we offer an overview of the activities and successes of the FASoS research institute in 2016. Please check the menu below to find out what we have done over the past year and continue to do at present.