The John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies (JFKI) is a central institute at

Freie Universität Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

. The JFKI was founded in 1963 by Ernst Fraenkel, a political scientist and was named in the honor of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

after his assassination. The JFKI seeks to explore North America in all its dimensions. Focusing on the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, research and teaching at the JFKI unite culture and history with literature and political science, sociology and economics. Along with the

Institute for East European Studies The Institute for East European Studies (German language, German Osteuropa-Institut, abbreviated ''OEI'') of Free University of Berlin is an interdisciplinary teaching and research institution specializing in the region of Eastern Europe, Eastern, ...

and the Institute for Latin American Studies, John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies is one of the three interdisciplinary research institutes within the Free University of Berlin.

Graduate School of North American Studies

The Graduate School of North American Studies at the JFKI was awarded with funding during the German excellence initiative for its Ph.D. program themed "The Challenges of Freedom". It was one of only two graduate schools in the humanities among 18 graduate schools in total which received this honor in October 2007.

JFKI library

The JFKI library holds

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

's largest collection of scholarly literature and audiovisual material on North America. It receives funding from both the Canadian and the United States' government in order to acquire special collections in the research area of

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Schol ...

References

External links

John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies

{{authority control American studies American culture Historiography of the United States Cultural studies organizations Organizations established in 1963 Free University of Berlin 1963 establishments in Germany