Kipu-Verlag facilitates connections between different disciplines, regions, ideas and people, aiming to stimulate dialogue and generate collective, decolonial, democratizing, and critical knowledge. This concept is encapsulated by the term "Kipu". The Quechua word "kipu" or "khipu" is the source of this term. The term 'knot' is a reference to a more than thousand-year-old knot writing that was used in the Inca Empire as a medium for the circulation of knowledge.
The publishers' work is aimed at the scientific community specialising in transdisciplinary regional studies, as well as the general public interested in the Americas. Open access publishing online is an important part of Kipu Verlag's identity, as well as being a central cornerstone for the accessibility and free circulation of knowledge. Additionally, Kipu Verlag promotes transcultural dialogue by publishing in multiple languages, including Spanish, English, and German.
Bei Publikationsinteressen, für Buchvorschläge und Manuskripte wenden Sie sich bitte an info@kipu-verlag.de, z.Hd. Philipp Wolfesberger. Gerne senden wir in der Folge Formulare zu, um die eingereichten Vorschläge in der Redaktionsleitung sowie mit den Herausgeber*innen von einzelnen Reihen diskutieren zu können.
History
Kipu-Verlag was founded in 2015 within the Center for InterAmerican Studies at Bielefeld University. Its publishing work began with the release of the teaching materials series, "Wissen um globale Verflechtungen." This first series was soon supplemented by photo books that bridge science and artistic practice, as well as the English-Spanish-German series Master's Theses in Inter-American Studies (since 2017), the German-Spanish series "Ensayos InterAmericanos" (since 2020), and the broader series "Repensar las Américas / Rethinking the Americas". Since 2025, the Spanish series "Afrontar las crisis ambientales" (Facing Environmental Crises) has been published in long essay format.
Förderverein für InterAmerikanische Studien e.V.
Kipu-Verlag is legally anchored in and published by the non-profit Förderverein für InterAmerikanische Studien e.V. (Association for the Promotion of Inter-American Studies), based in Bielefeld.
The association is currently managed by the following board: Philipp Wolfesberger (chair), Olaf Kaltmeier, Julia Roth, Nadine Pollvogt, and Matti Steinitz.
The association's board also forms the editorial board of Kipu-Verlag.