News Articles
Retooling the Humanities
Campus workshop to examine changing face of humanities research
The pursuit of external funding is one of the things that has changed the face of Canadian academia in both the arts and sciences, says Prof. Smaro Kamboureli, who holds a Canada Research Chair (CRC) in the School of English and Theatre Studies. The ability to secure grants has become an important measuring stick for humanities researchers, and that has had an impact on both the production and dissemination of knowledge coming out of Canadian universities, she says.
This changing paradigm is one of the central themes of a workshop called “The Culture of Research: Retooling the Humanities,” to be held on campus Oct. 20 to 22. It kicks off with a public forum running from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Arboretum Centre. Sponsored by Kamboureli, the TransCanada Institute she heads, U of G and McMaster University CRC Daniel Coleman, the forum will be chaired by Prof. Alan Wildeman, vice-president (research). Presenters are Guelph professor Donna Palmateer Pennee, associate dean of arts and science; University of Manitoba CRC Diana Brydon; and University of New Brunswick professor Wendy Robbins.
“The question of external funding is definitely crucial, and I expect it will be raised as a main issue at the forum,” says Kamboureli, “but equally if not more important is the question of what are the ethical, social and political implications of the ways research in the humanities is instrumentalized.”
The impetus for the forum is twofold, she says. First, scholars have a vested interest in how research is produced, disseminated and institutionalized, as well as why some projects are deemed more viable than others. Second, the general public has had trouble understanding the value of humanities research.
Kamboureli says the transformation of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council from a granting council to a knowledge council marked a turning point.
“That process galvanized humanities scholars and raised many questions,” she says.
Forum participants will be encouraged to address a variety of topics, including the paradigms and conditions that shape the humanities today, how the humanities “retool” themselves and the subsequent impact on academic life and work, the application and evaluation processes of funding agencies, and what the term “innovation” entails and how it can be measured.
These kinds of issues have intrigued Kamboureli since she was a young academic.
“In some ways, I think the particular kinds of pressures the humanities are under today began at the time of the 1980s recession, when the pressure for fiscal responsibility gave rise to the discourse of accountability and its various guises. I became increasingly aware of the utilitarian emphasis placed on the kind of research humanists pursue. We hope the forum will create an intensive and sustained dialogue on all these issues.”
To register for the forum, which will be followed by a reception, send e-mail to transcan@uoguelph.ca.