Humanities on the defensive? Yes. No. Maybe. One thing is for sure, this week has featured insightful reads on the value-added of education and training in the humanities, including:
- Move over, Stem: why the world needs humanities graduates (The Guardian)
- A Rallying Cry for the Humanities (Chronicle Vitae)
- From STEM to STEAM: The potential for arts to facilitate innovation, literacy and participatory democracy (London School of Economics and Political Science)
Amidst the assertions that the humanities and social sciences matter, a panel of diverse scholars will meet at Carleton University tomorrow to further discuss if these disciplines have an obligation to solve society’s problems. As part of the Faculty of Public Affairs’ Research Month, Carleton University will present a panel featuring Chad Gaffield, president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
The event’s description reads:
Today’s policy climate, both in Canada and around the world, is placing increasing emphasis on supporting research that contributes to job growth, industry partnerships and community engagement. This panel will help those in attendance understand the current research policy climate while reflecting on the obligation of social science research to address today’s social problems. What is the relationship, if any, between critical theory and the empirical study of social phenomena? How should the Canadian public think about the value of social science?
For more details, be sure to visit here.
But before tomorrow, how about plans for tonight… Consider heading to Carleton University early for an event on navigating the new landscape of knowledge mobilization? Among other guests, this session will feature Brian Greenspan, Associate Professor at Carleton University and Director of the Hyperlab, and Peter Levesque, President and Director of the Institute for Knowledge Mobilization. The event is 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 tonight’s event.