Georg Forster Research Award for Maristella Svampa

Recognized academics from developing and emerging countries can be nominated for the Georg Forster Research Prize, which is endowed with 60,000 euros. The prize for Maristella Svampa was initiated by Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Burchardt, Department of International Relations at the University of Kassel. As Director of the Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos CELA, he promotes the exchange of ideas between North and South: Burchardt describes the Georg Forster Research Prize as the "gold standard" and is delighted with the award: "Maristella Svampa is undoubtedly one of the most important academics in the Global South and Latin America. In particular, she has intensively researched issues of raw material exports and the risks of the raw material-exporting development model (extractivism) in its various facets in order to develop socially and ecologically compatible alternatives," emphasizes Burchardt. Her extensive work on this topic, which repeatedly incorporates and critically reflects current developments, could be seen as a paradigmatic example of how scientific excellence and socio-political commitment complement and fertilize each other.

She has also carried out pioneering work in various areas, including her research on new social movements, the Argentine financial and economic crisis, socio-ecological transformation, the emergence of new global development paradigms and gender inequality. She is a leading academic and a driving force for the development of social science theory in Latin America. Burchardt: "She contributes more than almost any other Latin American social scientist to the South-North transfer of knowledge and the internationalization of Latin American critical thinking."

In 1984, Maristella Svampa graduated with honors in philosophy from the Universidad Cordoba in Argentina. This was followed by further studies in Paris (history, philosophy, sociology). From 1994 to 2007, she was Professor of History in Buenos Aires. She has been a university professor of sociology since 2010, making her the most senior professor in the Argentinian system, at the prestigious Universidad Nacional de la Plata (Buenos Aires).

Background:

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation uses funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to award up to six Georg Forster Research Awards each year to internationally recognized academics from developing and emerging countries in recognition of their overall achievements to date. The award winners are invited to carry out research projects of their own choice in Germany in cooperation with specialist colleagues over a period of approximately six months to one year.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Burchardt
Department of International Relations
Tel.: 0561 804 2797
Mail: magura[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
Web: https://kassel-global.de/