Last Saturday was International Women’s Day, so it’s only fitting to share that ideas can be… smart and beautiful! “For years now, the call for more real-looking models to be used in clothing ads has been echoed by women around the globe. A San Francisco-based fashion retailer appears to be heeding that cry this season -- at least in part -- by using PhDs and doctoral candidates instead of fashion models to show off its goods” (CBC News).
While equity and diversity are being embraced in the digital age in this way, ubiquitous advanced technologies are also impacting the pace of innovation and the social sciences and humanities. This week, Bill Gates “disagreed forcefully with economists and analysts who say the pace of technological innovation is slowing, and no longer driving productivity and economic growth” (The Atlantic).
For the social sciences and humanities, emerging technologies are influencing – for example– teaching, research and dissemination. Accordingly, the Université du Québec à Montréal, in collaboration with McGill University, Concordia University, Université de Montréal, University of Sherbrooke and Institut national de la recherche scientifique, is hosting a regional dialogue on the humanities in the digital age. In the same vein, Western University’s faculties in the social sciences and humanities will be hosting an event on Saturday depicting an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to harnessing the benefits of Big Data in these disciplines. Both events are part of a series of eight regional events that are taking place across Canada, each serving to “highlight insights from research in the social sciences and humanities on issues related to a future challenge area” (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council). Be sure to follow #futurecanada on Twitter for more about these events.
Looking for more news from the Federation? Sign up for our Communiqué, the Federation’s monthly eNewsletter here. The Communiqué brings you the latest news about the Federation, its events, members and the latest news and information from the humanities and social sciences learning and research community in Canada. This month’s Communiqué was released earlier this week!