Research Centers
The College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences at UNC Charlotte is home to multiple collaborative centers that foster interdisciplinary research, enhance educational experiences for students, and engage with the community to address important contemporary topics.
CENTER FOR APPLIED GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE
The Center for Applied Geographic Information Science (CAGIS) uses advanced space-time theories, methods, and technologies in Geographic Information Science (GIS) to address pressing multi-scale resource and sustainability issues. Coupling spatiotemporal and computational thinking, major research themes include remote sensing and sensor networks, geocomputational modeling, geovisualization, and urban resilience, sustainability, and complexity.
CENTER FOR COMMUNITY, HERITAGE, AND THE ART
The Center for Community, Heritage, and the Arts (CHArt) fosters interdisciplinary conversations on preservation and interpretation of the built environment through engagement with communities, their legacies, and specific places. A collaboration with the College of Arts + Architecture, CHArt seeks to expand the roles of the visual and performing arts, museums, archeological sites, and others within critical heritage and preservation efforts. Current projects focus on the social impact of the arts, elevating community stories, and heritage placemaking through the arts.
CENTER FOR HOLOCAUST, GENOCIDE & HUMAN RIGHTS STUDIES
The Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Studies supports research, education, and outreach exploring the causes and lasting consequences of mass violence. Recognizing the need to learn from the past in order to promote human rights in the present, the Center facilitates research projects, hosts conferences and symposia, and organizes study abroad trips for students. It also offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Studies.
CENTER FOR MIGRATION AND DIASPORA STUDIES
Through interdisciplinary inquiry and community engagement, the Center for Migration and Diaspora Studies examines narratives of migration and diaspora, cultivates spaces for dialogue, and explores change in migrant communities. Its faculty recognize the importance of space in giving meaning to identities rooted in places of origin and destination. The Center facilitates innovative community-engaged research and fosters student involvement through co-curricular activities and experiential learning.
CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL AND APPLIED ETHICS
The Center for Professional and Applied Ethics promotes a culture of robust research and discussion in ethics within the University and beyond. Through research collaborations, educational events, and outreach activities, the Center provides an interdisciplinary intellectual and moral space in which people can critically assess, thoughtfully discuss, and strategically address ethical challenges in areas such as business, healthcare, information technology, and popular culture.
Center for the Study of the New South
The Center for the Study of the New South in UNC Charlotte’s College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences promotes discourse and dialogue on a rich and diverse constellation of topics and ideas relating to the New South. Known as the period of regional history from the end of the Civil War to the modern era, the New South offers a bold tapestry of history, culture, social movements, and political issues ripe for reflection and study.
Charlotte Action Research Project
The Charlotte Action Research Project (CHARP) forges partnerships between UNC Charlotte researchers and marginalized communities in Charlotte. By recognizing a neighborhood’s assets, CHARP proactively seeks to integrate teaching, beneficial action research and community organizing projects to enable neighborhoods to advocate for themselves and create sustainable neighborhood coalitions to implement structural change.