Research Cluster 1: Languages, Cultures and Migrations
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Languages, Cultures and Migrations
The HCIAS has made a significant contribution to placing migration firmly on the University's research agenda, linking questions of democracy, global inequalities, climate change, health, mobility, language and communication, culture, care, and social transformation. This cluster is organized into two lines of research.
The first line of research on language, heritage and communication, is structured around the Observatory of Spanish in Europe (OSE), which analyzes and documents the linguistic, social, and cultural dynamics of Spanish-speaking communities shaped by migration between Latin America, Spain, and the rest of Europe. Research at the OSE centers on multilingualism, heritage languages, linguistic diversity, language contact, and identity in Ibero-America. A particular focus lies on the intergenerational transmission of languages in family contexts. The OSE collaborates closely with the Research Group Communication and Cognition to study language processing by heritage speakers, thereby offering a pioneering approach to research on multilingualism and linguistic diversity.
The second research line examines migration, displacement, bordering, and (im)mobilities as drivers of social, political, and cultural transformation in Ibero-America and beyond. Integrating social anthropology, human geography, and sociology, it analyzes how mobility regimes shape everyday life, rights, and belonging. It foregrounds the Americas as a site of global entanglement, linked with Europe and other world regions through interconnected migration corridors.
Research Line 1: Language, heritage and communication, anchored in the Observatory of Spanish in Europe OSE
Research Line 2: Migration, displacement, bordering, and (im)mobilities as drivers of social, political, and cultural transformation
Principal Investigators: Prof. Dr. Óscar Loureda, Prof Dr. Francisco Moreno-Fernández, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Yaatsil Guevera González
Collaborations within the University: Institute of Translation and Interpreting (IÜD), Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA), Institute of Geography, DFG CRC 1671 Home(s), Heidelberg University’s Field of Focus 3, Heidelberg University’s Flagship Initiative Families in Transition
Research Units and Groups: Observatory of Spanish in Europe, Research Group Communication and Cognition, Research Group Migration and the Americas
Ongoing Research Projects
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Ongoing Postdoctoral Projects
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Ongoing Doctoral Projects
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Most Recent Publications:
- Loureda, Ó., & Ivanova, O. (Eds.). (in press): Language Processing in Spanish Heritage Speakers. Languages. MDPI.
- Valero Fernández, P., & HeeSoo, K. (in press). Frecuencia de uso y valores de „en plan“ en conversaciones espontáneas y semidirigidas. Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación. ISSN: 1576-4737.
- Álvarez Mella, H.*, Bleorțu, C., Buzilă, P. & Elizondo Romo, M. (2026). Return Migration and Spanish in Europe. In Ó. Loureda, R. Gutiérrez, J.L. García Delgado, & P. Valero Fernández (Eds.), Understanding the Spanish Language in Europe: Current Migration and Educational Trends (pp. 99-122). De Gruyter.