Created in 1945, the Humanities Coordinating Office of the National Autonomous University of Mexico contributes to the tasks of research, education and dissemination of the knowledge from the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences. Currently, the Office oversees development and dissemination of the work carried out in the UNAM Humanities sub-system that consists of ten institutes, seven centers, three programs and one regional office. [ Web site ]

This institute strives to carry out advanced, multidisciplinary research in diverse areas within the field of anthropology, including physical anthropology, archeology, social anthropology, ethnology and linguistic anthropology. Its efforts are oriented to contributing to the understanding of the Nation’s cultural characteristics from ancient times to the present. Currently, the Institute provides advisory services for the conservation of monuments and analysis of materials in archeological artifacts. Moreover, it is a leading center for research in preserving the country’s rich cultural heritage of customs, traditions, languages and lifestyles. Through anthropological interpretations of current social dynamics, the Institute endeavors to understand the processes of change in Mexican society. [ Web site ]

As the managing agency of the National Library of Mexico (BNM) and the National Periodicals Archive, both major depositories of important historical documents and manuscripts, the Library Science Research Institute holds a strategic position within the cultural project of both UNAM and, indeed, the country as a whole. The National Library and the Periodical Archives are, moreover, the Institute’s central objects of study and are approached through a wide diversity of disciplines. One of the important consequences of this research is a variety of cataloging tools in both print and digital formats. [ Web site ]

The Economics Research Institute is divided into the following research units: World Economy, Commodities, Industry, Urban and Rural Studies, Applied Research, Labor, Technology, Fiscal and Financial Analysis, Education, Science, Energy, Development Policy, Economics Knowledge and Development, Environment, Economic History, Tax and Public Sector Policy and Macroeconomic Studies. [ Web site ]

The Institute of Research in Aesthetics carries out research primarily in the field of Mexican artistic manifestations. Through the Department of Documentary Research, researchers find, transcribe and perform paleographic analyses of relevant Mexican and world artworks. The Manuel Toussaint Photographic Archive carries out activities entailing cataloging, conservation and dissemination. In order to support the Institute’s mission, the Hypermedia Laboratory was launched to meet the growing need for digitizing both artworks and research in the field. The Institute operates a diagnostic laboratory equipped to carry out chemical-physical, specialized photographic and microscopic analyses of artworks. These analyses are keys to the overarching objective of encouraging the dialectic involving theories of conservation and restoration. Web site [ Sitio web ]

This Institute functions through the efforts of seven research divisions: Classical Studies endeavors to preserve and broaden knowledge of Greek and Latin culture and its tradition in Mexico; Hispanic Linguistics studies the Spanish language and its grammar; Literary Studies examines Mexican and Latin American literature; Mayan Studies centers its efforts on the history and current condition of thirty or so Mayan populations spread across Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras; Poetics attempts to establish a science of literary theory; Indigenous Languages studies and describes the vernacular languages currently in use in Mexico, and Hermeneutics scrutinizes hermeneutical theory and its applications to diverse areas of the humanities and social sciences. [ Web site ]

The Philosophy Research Institute’s mission is to produce original philosophical knowledge, instruct pupils and provide ongoing education for professors and researchers. These tasks are complimented by ongoing efforts to disseminate philosophical knowledge. The Institute pursues thirteen major areas of research: Epistemology, Aesthetics, Ethics, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Law, Philosophy of Language, Political Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Logic, Metaphysics and Philosophy of Mexico. The Institute also supports a wide range of collaborative projects involving researchers, professors and students from the UNAM and other institutions.[ Web site ]

The History Research Institute is divided into areas that favor comparative analyses and the production of original knowledge in the fields of Pre-Hispanic History, Colonial History, and Modern and Contemporary History. While the Institute’s main focus is on Mexico, comparative and process-based approaches to historical analysis have also been employed since its inception. As such, in recent years, projects addressing the comparative history of pre-Hispanic peoples, Atlantic and Latin American development, and diplomatic relations have received special emphasis. Nevertheless, the Institute continues to pursue lines of research that have made it an important hub for research on Mexican and world history. [ Web site ]

The Jurisprudence Research Institute carries out advanced research oriented toward solving national problems in addition to carrying out diverse activities in the diffusion of legal knowledge by means of congresses, seminars and conferences that invite substantive exchange between jurists from many countries. The Institute is involved in the following areas: Constitutional, Administrative, Environmental, Civil, Penal, Fiscal and Mercantile law; Freedom of Information, Social Philosophy, Theory of Rights, History of Law, Applied Research, Legal Precedent as well as studies in Health Policy and Sociology of Law. [ Web site ]

The Sociology Research Institute is devoted to scientific research in the field of social science in order to contribute to finding solutions to the country’s social problems. Its approach is informed by the principles of independence and theoretical-methodological plurality. The Institute currently carries out 169 research projects in the following areas: Farm studies, Education and science studies, Urban and regional studies, Government processes and social stake holders, Political and social history and Population and demographics, Sociology of political processes and Sociolinguistics and culture. [ Web site ]

The Institute of University and Educational Research is charged with two central duties: 1) the development of research on the University and education, and 2) the care and promotion of the UNAM Historical Archive (AHUNAM). Research embraces multidisciplinary approaches and structural underpinnings in order to grasp the full complexity of educational endeavors. The importance of the Historical Archive lies in its function as a vital documentary source for researchers and its role as custodian of the documents that tell the UNAM’s story. The Institute receives operational support from the Specialized Library and the Computer Department and operates an internal Editorial Coordinating Office. [ Web site ]

The Latin America and Caribbean Research Center has endeavored to understand the ties that link Mexico to greater Latin America and the Caribbean, regions that share many important features and that have undergone convergent and overlapping historical processes. The Center is devoted to an independent and critical approach to the region in order to build better understanding of its historical background and actuality. [ Web site ]

The Center carries out research devoted to understanding and providing solutions to problems within the fields of Library and Information Sciences. A broad variety of research objects are approached through diverse theories and methodologies, whose shared aim is to address issues inherent to the field, specifically as these pertain to Mexico. The Center’s efforts are organized in the following areas: Foundations of Library and Information Sciences, Information and Society, Information Systems, Analysis and Systemization of Documentary Information and Information Technology. [ Web site ]

The CELE is devoted to teaching in the field of Applied Linguistics, a domain that attracts researchers from diverse fields, creating synergies that give rise to original objects of study. Descriptive linguistics, pedagogy, sociology, psycholinguistics, psychology, anthropology, biology, neurology and informatics all play a role in this process that strives to provide theoretical underpinnings that lead to solutions to issues in the field of linguistics. As it strives to be responsive to the needs and demands of society, the CELE approaches research as a process entailing feedback loops between theory and application. [ Web site ]

The Center endeavors to integrate, coordinate, promote and implement interdisciplinary academic projects in the fields of Science and Humanities. Its diverse lines of research fall under the following headings: Theory and Methodology, Alternatives, Special Programs, and Post-graduate and Advanced Studies. [ Web site ]

By promoting rigorous multidisciplinary research on the complex reality of the United States and Canada, this center aims to describe and understand the interrelationships that necessarily derive from Mexico’s position on the North American continent. Through both dissemination and university extension courses, the Center strives to ensure objectivity and plurality with regard to knowledge about the region. Moreover, the Center holds an important collection of specialized documentary and bibliographical materials that are available to researchers and students. Serving as a hub for the interchange of theory and methodological approaches among the scientific communities of the three North American countries, the Center strives to widen and deepen the academic network underpinning its mission. [ Web site ]

The Center’s fundamental task is to carry out research in Mexico’s social problems, involving social science approaches and those from other spheres, as it strives to fulfill the UNAM’s overarching duty to education and cultural dissemination. With this in mind, the Center is oriented toward consolidating its position as a socially responsive, cutting edge leader in academia. [ Web site ]

This center strives to consolidate and promote research, education and academic extension in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences throughout the Yucatan region. Deploying a multidisciplinary, integrated approach, the Center carries out analytical research aimed at understanding and finding solutions to regional problems. The Center also operates programs to bring scientific and cultural knowledge from these spheres to the population in general. [ Web site ]

Since its founding in 1992, the Gender Studies Program has endeavored to promote and coordinate activities whose purpose is to enhance the academic quality of work carried out in the field of gender studies and in general advocate the legitimacy of the gender oriented perspectives within academia. The program understands that in order to consolidate this field of study, it must carry out specific, multidisciplinary research that adopts gender study approaches as their basic underpinning. The program also strives to carry out a critical revision of academic paradigms, while promoting collaborative relationships between institutions in order to design alternative public policies and programs that encourage gender equality. [ Web site ]

This program was launched in response to the call to establish ties between the UNAM and society with regard to the complex problems posed by Mexican cities. These ties are oriented toward encouraging discussion, analysis and concrete solutions to the nation’s urban issues. The program gathers national and international thinkers from diverse academic disciplines and the public and private sectors into a network designed to enrich understanding of the myriad issues arising from the growth of cities. As such, the program focuses on multidisciplinary analyses of processes and stake holders making up of cities and regions. [ Web site ]

Even though the UNAM has always been a key player in promoting knowledge about the country’s many cultures and ethnicities, and in ensuring a climate of respect and tolerance within the nation, more progress toward these objectives is required. As such, this program was established as a hub for intellectual, methodological and technical exchange in order to promote the work of researchers and professors, both within the UNAM and beyond its confines, in fields involving the multicultural nature of Mexico. The program strives to ensure high academic standards of the research, education and extension efforts focusing on Mexico’s indigenous peoples. Moreover, the program endeavors to support educational approaches that contribute to the positive transformation of relationships between the diverse ethnicities that make up Mexico, while disseminating knowledge and experiences derived from research and other activities associated with the field of multicultural studies. [ Web site ]

From its headquarters in Jiquilpan, in the northeast region of the State of Michoacan, this regional department promotes research on the dynamics existing between stake holders, environment, economy, territory and culture at both the national and local levels. Similarly, it collaborates in education and dissemination of knowledge and culture, while carrying out efforts to build ties between regional stake holders in order to contribute to the creation of development strategies. Moreover, the Department carries out research with a regional focus that brings together the efforts of regional, state and federal institutions, as well as those of international organizations, for the purpose of maximizing efforts and resources to ensure wider dissemination of knowledge and culture through publications, forums, conferences, workshops, round-tables and colloquies. [ Sitio web ]