Overview Research Programmes

FASoS consists of four distinct research programmes, each of which is composed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers:

  • Arts, Media and Culture (AMC) examines cultural practices such as language use, conservation and remediation, as well as pressing social issues involving diversity, aesthetics and heritage. Approaching these topics from an interdisciplinary angle, the group’s research draws on insights from literary and media studies, (cultural) history and gender studies, as well as the social sciences. Its results further our understanding of art and culture, intervene in topical social debates, and help build more inclusive societies.
  • Globalisation, Transnationalism and Development (GTD) asks how transnational linkages created through the exchanges between individuals, families, political elites and civil society organisations within the Global South and between the Global South and North affect societies. It draws on expertise in international development studies, anthropology, sociology and political science. Projects are multi-sited, mixed method, and grounded in fieldwork. Through its transnational perspective, our research aims to re-frame issues around migration and globalisation & development, thus addressing some of the core issues in today’s globalized world.
  • Maastricht University Science, Technology and Society Studies (MUSTS) studies how modern societies are constituted by science and technology and, vice versa, how social and cultural conditions shape technological innovations and scientific discoveries. It draws on a combination of philosophical, historical, sociological and anthropological approaches, focusing in particular on cultures of innovation. The analysis typically moves between micro-level studies of local practices and macro-level questions of governance, policy and morality, making it relevant for policy-makers, academic debates, and society at large.
  • Politcs and Culture in Europe (PCE) seeks to understand and explain the process of European integration in its historical, political, institutional and ideational dimensions. While today’s EU and its history take central place, PCE also focuses on non-EU forms of trans-, supra-, and international cooperation and integration in Europe and the world. PCE’s findings deepen our knowledge on the origins, trajectories and future perspectives of various forms of ‘governance beyond the nation state’, as well as their normative underpinnings, as a form of expertise relevant in academic and political contexts.