Message

(congratulations, expectations, etc.)

Estimated members of the Global Alliance of Foreign Studies Universities and the Consortium for Country and Area Studies:

I cordially and effusively greet this initiative for the establishment of these two new institutions, that you are promoting. I believe that this is the right time for an initiative of this nature, especially considering the type of global difficulties that appear on the near horizon of international relations and global flows, and also from the relevance of its call for not to lose sight of the correlative opportunities and potentialities that unfold in the same scenario. Undoubtedly, the interdisciplinary, inclusive perspective and the seriousness of area studies make up a propitious environment for understanding the complexities of the various relationships between the cultures of the world, an aspect that demonstrates its validity in all types of foreign policy initiatives or global phenomena. I especially welcome the inclusion of the foreign languages teaching-learning perspective playing an important role in these studies, given that this inclusion enhances its indissoluble link with other disciplines that practice within the field of area studies, and also allows highlighting its position as an axis within a set of translation processes, that are not simply limited to the linguistic but also encompass the material, the economic and the technical, and cultural in general. In short, I believe that area studies are called to be a propitious field for cultural interaction and the invention of new categories and currents of thought for international relations and global flows, and that is why I find this initiative so pertinent for the moment we live.

In any case, I will be happy to participate and join the network of the Consortium for Country and Area Studies.

greets you sincerely

Diego S. Buttigliero