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The Center for the Study of Local Knowledge conducts and facilitates basic and advanced research related to the theme of local knowledge. CSLK studies the theme of local knowledge from a broadly conceived, interdisciplinary standpoint. This research design leverages the theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches of scholars from across disciplines. In addition, CSLK actively engages lay scholars in its research program so that research questions, methods, and designs are as inclusive as possible.

CSLK’s research is informed by our working definition of local knowledge:

A community’s shared understanding of its cultural, economic, intellectual, political, and social relations, across space and time, and the implications for the everyday ordering and reordering of society

CSLK’s research focuses on how conceptions of local knowledge are implicated in constructions of gender, race, and nation. In addition, CSLK provides a critical venue for research in other areas, such as:
  • Constructions of Local Knowledge
  • Productions, Reproductions, and Representations of Local Knowledge
  • Local Knowledge and Cultures of Globalization
  • Economic, Political, and Intellectual Challenges of Local Knowledge
  • Local Knowledge and Public Policy

CSLK coordinates its research program by highlighting and focusing on the following annual research themes:

2002 – 2003 Rethinking Local Knowledge

2003 – 2004 Local/Global Articulations

2004 – 2005 Local Knowledge and the Academy