"A Wealth of Ideas: The Value of the Humanities in Modern Society"

Ideas grow

The Humanities in the Twenty-first Century University

IASH Research Theme: June 2005 - August 2009

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Context

With the institution of new technological curricula and an increasingly instrumental and utilitarian attitude towards Higher education amongst politicians, the role of the Humanities in the Academy has come under intense scrutiny. Doctoral programmes turn out scholars with PhDs who cannot find jobs appropriate to their training, and funding is diverted from Humanities subjects to more obviously useful forms of education. Recent books such as Alvin Kernan's What's Happened to the Humanities, John Ellis's Literature Lost: Social Agendas and the Corruption of the Humanities, and Monika Fludernik's Threatening the University: the Liberal Arts and the Economization of Culture proliferate: it is easy to participate in a sense that a major sector of the modern academy feels itself misunderstood, undervalued and under siege.

Is there really a 'Crisis' in the Humanities, or is it a necessary and continuing aspect of the role of the Humanities to reflect critically on themselves? What are 'the Humanities' in the modern university and how do they relate to the old 'Liberal Arts'? Need the Humanities justify themselves, and how might they best do it?

Description

This theme considers the history, present position and possible future roles for the Humanities in the Twenty-first Century University, in a national, European and global context. The intersection of the Humanities and the wider public sphere is a major issue, as are relationships between the academy and national and international cultural institutions. Topics for consideration include the question of what is 'research' in the Humanities, and how does it relate to teaching?; the inauguration of what has been called the 'Two Humanities': the old and new disciplines of the human sciences; the appropriation of psychoanalytic theory by Cultural Studies; what does/might Knowledge Transfer mean for the Humanities?; the relationship between human and material sciences; the Humanities and the Learned Professions; the Academy and the Public Intellectual; 'The Idea of a University'; the Humanities and Medicine: contemporary contexts.

Events

In association with the theme a series of events and collaborations involving researchers from across the College of Humanities and Social Sciences are being organised.
(full details can be found at http://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/Humanities.events.html)

RECENT EVENTS

27 June 2008: Workshop: "Everything in Moderation: Individuals, institutions and intellectuals in flux"

IASH hosted a series of three workshops for the "Embodied Values and the Environment" Research Project:

15 August 2007: Opening reception for the Sixth International Conference of the International Association for Word and Music Studies (WMA) which was held at the University of Edinburgh from August 15 to 18, 2007. The Conference themes were “Self-reference in Literature and Music” and “Surveying the Field”, and there was also a "Word and Music Studies Forum".

28 May 2007: Structured discussion led by Baroness Onora O'Neill on "Should the Humanities address normative questions?"

18 May 2007: Lunchtime Seminar by Professor Luther Martin: "Past minds: exploring the cognitive historiography of religion"

25 April 2007: Workshop on "Environmental and Human Values"

6 May 2006: Joint IASH/VARIE (Visual Arts Research Institute Edinburgh) Symposium on Visuality and Cognition.

15 March 2006: Joint Colloquium with the British Academy: "A Wealth of Ideas: The Value of the Humanities in Modern Society"

Seminar series: "New Perspectives for the Humanities in the Twenty-First Century"

27 October 2005: Professor Tony Bennett: "Cultural taste and participation: the role of the humanities"

14 March 2006: One-Day Conference: "Aesthetics, Culture and Society"

10 July 2006: Symposium on "Lyotard, Art and Music". Speakers: Professor James Williams (Philosophy, University of Dundee) and Dr David Bennett (English, University of Melbourne)

 

FUTURE EVENTS

Further seminars in the series: "New Perspectives for the Humanities in the Twenty-First Century"

"Crossing Boundaries: Conversations between the Arts and Sciences"

C.H.A.T. - Conversations in the Humanities, Arts and Technologies - an informal occasional discussion group dedicated to exploring the interface between humanities, arts, and sciences in the 21st century.
Next meeting: Monday, 11 February - details at CHAT.html

Occasional Workshop Series:

"Derrida and the Humanities in the 21st Century"

"The Academy and the Public intellectual"

"Communicative Musicality"

Intercollegiate forum on "Values and the Environment" - the next phase of the "Embodied Values and the Environment" project.

CHCI Annual Conference: 11-13 June 2009

Further meetings will be announced in due course. We welcome suggestions for additional events.

Links with other IASH Themes

This theme interacts creatively with other current IASH themes

Fellowships

Applications for Fellowships in relation to any aspect of this theme are invited from researchers in any field of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. See the Fellowships Programme.

 

 

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