Beyond utility and markets: Articulating the role of the humanities in the twenty-first century
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Centre for Cultural Policy Studies
Abstract
This project addresses the questions 'what is the role of the humanities in the twenty-first century?', 'what contributions do the humanities make to society?', and 'how might their impact be articulated and assessed?'. Given that the humanities, and we as scholars, operate largely within institutions such as universities and specific socio-economic systems based on market principles, we propose to explore these questions within the contexts of these frames.
A forthcoming book by Belfiore and Bennett titled 'The Social Impact of the Arts: An Intellectual History' (Palgrave 2008), traces the intellectual origins of various claims made about the arts from fifth century BC Athens to the present. This study attempts to reconnect contemporary policy debates with an intellectual history from which they have become detached, the authors argue. They suggest that the impacts of the arts cannot be properly understood, measured or evaluated without reference to this history of ideas. We suggest that the same loss of awareness of historical context may be true for the humanities as an academic discipline, and more broadly, for humanism as a system of thought. In order to explore the issue of the 'value' of Humanities research, we propose to ask 'How do organizations grounded in humanist values, specifically educational and cultural organizations, exist in market economies?' Drawing upon the contributions of a range of participants from the academy, industry and the civic realm, we will hold two research workshops to examine the opportunities, challenges, and tensions these organizations face in market economies. By assessing the commonalities and differences in the positions of educational and cultural organizations, themes may emerge that might be useful to articulate the function of the humanities and their potential socio-economic impacts.
Both research workshops will involve 12-15 participants from the US and the UK and will bring together scholars and cultural practitioners. One workshop will be held at the University of Warwick, the principal investigating institution, and the second will be held at Duke University in the US, who is a partner in this project.
We anticipate a stimulating cross-national transfer of knowledge between US scholars and those from the UK, where the presence of ancient universities, longer academic traditions in literature, classics, and history, and substantial government support, may have / at least until recently -- sheltered the humanities from market forces. To provide context and perspective from outside the academy, and to explore the question of the perceptions of the value of the Humanities outside academia, we propose to invite scientists employed in industry, policy-makers and professionals who lead financially viable cultural organizations.
In addition to the cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer, we also anticipate a fruitful exchange of thoughts and insights between the academic and practitioner sector participants. Through presentations and discussion, the workshops will explore the opportunities and tensions for the humanities in market economies, from the perspectives of the academy, industry, and civil society. Each workshop will begin with a critical- historical exploration of the research questions addressed by the event, with a view to establishing the intellectual context and an appropriate theoretical framework for a critical discussion of contemporary issues.
The project will begin October 1, 2008 and conclude October 1, 2009: its management team comprises the principal investigator Dr. Eleonora Belfiore, Assistant Professor in Cultural Policy Studies, and Anna Upchurch, both of the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies at the University of Warwick; Dr Donna Zapf of Duke University will be a US-based project partner. A published collection of essays from the workshops and a resulting conference paper are anticipated outputs.
A forthcoming book by Belfiore and Bennett titled 'The Social Impact of the Arts: An Intellectual History' (Palgrave 2008), traces the intellectual origins of various claims made about the arts from fifth century BC Athens to the present. This study attempts to reconnect contemporary policy debates with an intellectual history from which they have become detached, the authors argue. They suggest that the impacts of the arts cannot be properly understood, measured or evaluated without reference to this history of ideas. We suggest that the same loss of awareness of historical context may be true for the humanities as an academic discipline, and more broadly, for humanism as a system of thought. In order to explore the issue of the 'value' of Humanities research, we propose to ask 'How do organizations grounded in humanist values, specifically educational and cultural organizations, exist in market economies?' Drawing upon the contributions of a range of participants from the academy, industry and the civic realm, we will hold two research workshops to examine the opportunities, challenges, and tensions these organizations face in market economies. By assessing the commonalities and differences in the positions of educational and cultural organizations, themes may emerge that might be useful to articulate the function of the humanities and their potential socio-economic impacts.
Both research workshops will involve 12-15 participants from the US and the UK and will bring together scholars and cultural practitioners. One workshop will be held at the University of Warwick, the principal investigating institution, and the second will be held at Duke University in the US, who is a partner in this project.
We anticipate a stimulating cross-national transfer of knowledge between US scholars and those from the UK, where the presence of ancient universities, longer academic traditions in literature, classics, and history, and substantial government support, may have / at least until recently -- sheltered the humanities from market forces. To provide context and perspective from outside the academy, and to explore the question of the perceptions of the value of the Humanities outside academia, we propose to invite scientists employed in industry, policy-makers and professionals who lead financially viable cultural organizations.
In addition to the cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer, we also anticipate a fruitful exchange of thoughts and insights between the academic and practitioner sector participants. Through presentations and discussion, the workshops will explore the opportunities and tensions for the humanities in market economies, from the perspectives of the academy, industry, and civil society. Each workshop will begin with a critical- historical exploration of the research questions addressed by the event, with a view to establishing the intellectual context and an appropriate theoretical framework for a critical discussion of contemporary issues.
The project will begin October 1, 2008 and conclude October 1, 2009: its management team comprises the principal investigator Dr. Eleonora Belfiore, Assistant Professor in Cultural Policy Studies, and Anna Upchurch, both of the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies at the University of Warwick; Dr Donna Zapf of Duke University will be a US-based project partner. A published collection of essays from the workshops and a resulting conference paper are anticipated outputs.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Eleonora Belfiore (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Belfiore, E.
(2013)
'The Humanities and the challenge of "value"'
in n/a
Belfiore, E.
(2009)
Beyond utility: Articulating the role and value of Humanities research to contemporary society
in n/a
Belfiore E
(2013)
Humanities in the Twenty-First Century
Belfiore E
(2013)
Humanities in the Twenty-First Century
Belfiore Eleonora
(2013)
Humanities in the Twenty-First Century: Beyond Utility and Markets
Belfiore, E.
(2012)
Redefining 'value': the arts, humanities and the challenges of contemporary life
in n/a
| Description | We believe the main achievements/findings of this project have been as follows: • The development of a constructive approach to debating the worth of the Humanities and the implications of the impact agenda in higher education. • Bringing together constituencies that rarely have the opportunity to meet (from different academic communities, business, policy, cultural sector) • Facilitating an international and comparative perspective on the question of the 'value of the Humanities' which is currently very topical in both the US and the UK • Stimulating debate in the wider public realm • Stimulate further reflection and collaborations beyond the two workshops Our original application had been quite adamant that the principal aim of the project was to explore the question of how the role and value of the Humanities in contemporary society might be articulated beyond a narrow instrumentality that sees socio-economic impact as the main indication of worth. We did not want the workshops to develop into a forum for the mere expression of frustration and discontent at the perceived low status of the arts and humanities among the disciplines in academia and in the wider world. Whilst the analysis of the difficult predicament in which the Humanities find themselves today was indeed part of the discussion, we feel that one of the main achievements of the events has been to offer the opportunity for a more constructive approach to the articulation of the value of the Humanities not just to scholars themselves, but also to those sectors of society and the economy that are broadly humanities-based (such as the arts and cultural sectors) and to society more broadly. Too often such debates are conducted by humanists for an audience of humanists, and we felt that this was a limitation. We also felt that it was rarely explored to what extent the geographical and political context in which universities operate affects the nature of this debate, and we wanted to compare British and North American experiences as a first step towards an international and comparative approach to reflecting on the ways in which the Humanities are perceived and their functions articulated in different contexts. We have made a conscious effort to extend the discussion to other groups beyond academics, and in particular to the business community. We had one session at the Duke workshop that was entirely based on a group of high-profile North Carolina business men and women who had followed the graduate course in the Humanities offered by our partner institution. They shared with the rest of the participants the reasons why they felt that having pursued postgraduate studies in the Humanities had had a positive effect on them not just as individuals, but also as business people, making them better prepared to face the challenges of a highly competitive and fast-moving business environment. A senior business representative from the world of IT was also present at the Warwick event, and we think that opening up the discussion around the value and impact of the Humanities to a wider group than it is often customary has meant that the perspectives reflected in the discussions have been more varied than it is often the case. The involvement of business people, for instance, has allowed for some important insights to emerge, notably the extent to which members of the business community seem comfortable in speaking of their belief in the value of the Humanities per se, and confident in dismissing the more instrumental aspects of the impact rhetoric as largely irrelevant to the arts and as an inadequate proxy for the expression of value, whilst being bemused at the defensiveness that they detected amongst humanities academics. Similarly, a medical researcher participated in the Duke workshop with a view to explore the interconnections between Humanities and the Natural Sciences (mainly medicine). The diversity in the background of the participants has resulted in very lively debates, which allowed the different positions, different theoretical and political standpoints of the various constituency groups represented (academics, cultural professionals, university administrators, scientists, policy makers in both the arts and humanities field, fundraisers for the arts and universities) to emerge clearly. Quite often participants did not agree, and on many issues we reached the conclusion that consensus might not be achieved, yet we feel it was important for these different points of view to have an opportunity to meet and be exchanged in a supportive and cordial atmosphere of mutual respect and curiosity of the others' view. Another important achievement, in our view, has been the fact that, despite the relatively small scale of this project, it has stimulated debate in the wider public realm: Prof Michael Berubè, of Penn State University (US), who participated at the Duke event, published a shorter version of his workshop paper in the Times Higher Education in July 2009, entitled "From where I sit - Measuring the unmeasurable" (http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=407546&c=1) thus spreading his reflections on the themes of the project well beyond the confines of the group involved in the workshops. Furthermore, Prof. David Looseley, who participated as a discussant to the Warwick workshop, elaborated his personal reflections on the discussions that took place at that event in a paper accepted for publication in the peer reviewed journal Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, which also will bring some of the content of the Warwick workshop to a much broader international academic audience. Furthermore, we count as an achievement the fact that not just speakers, but also discussants and participants have submitted abstracts hoping to be included in the edited collection of papers emerging from the workshops that we are currently putting together. We take this as evidence of the fact that participants have felt stimulated in their own thinking about the functions of the humanities in our society to the point of wanting to develop their reflections on the 'value question' further (we currently have eight contributions to the edited book, and are still in negotiations with three further possible contributors). Finally, we are aware that talks are presently taking place among some of the participants about the possibility of finding funding to pursue further UK/US collaborative work originating from the two workshops. The fact that the abstracts we have received so far include contributions from academic scholars from a different range of backgrounds, cultural practitioners, and business people further corroborates the intellectual fecundity of an interdisciplinary approach and the importance of opening up the Humanities debate to a varied and international audience. One achievement that we had not anticipated is the discussions that took place among some of the workshops participants about developing further collaborative work building on the complementary interests of people who met at the events. Indeed a funding application to the AHRC for an international network that included several of the workshop participants (from both UK and US, and including Dr Belfiore) was made in 2012, led by Dr Anna Upchurch, who had been the Research Assistant on this project (although this was unsuccessful). |
| Exploitation Route | The findings, as developed in the edited collection 'Humanities in the 21st Century: Between utility and markets' have been discussed at several public events, training sessions for arts and humanities ECRs, and engaged research showcases, thus contributing to the lively debate on the value of humanities research and the impact agenda that followed the 2010 higher education reforms in the UK. More specifically, the findings of the project are currently feeding into the work of the HEFCE review on the use of metrics in research assessment: the project PI was invited to sit in the steering group to represent a humanities perspective, and her contribution to the impact debate was acknowledged as a reason for her involvement in this important HEFCE review, which will result in recommendations that will shape the next round of the REF. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/theatre_s/cp/research/researchthemes/humanities/ |
| Description | The findings, as developed in the edited collection 'Humanities in the 21st Century: Between utility and markets' have been discussed at several public events, training sessions for arts and humanities ECRs, and engaged research showcases, thus contributing to the lively debate on the value of humanities research and the impact agenda that followed the 2010 higher education reforms in the UK. More specifically, the findings of the project are currently feeding into the work of the HEFCE review on the use of metrics in research assessment: the project PI was invited to sit in the steering group to represent a humanities perspective, and her contribution to the impact debate was acknowledged as a reason for her involvement in this important HEFCE review, which will result in recommendations that will shape the next round of the REF. As part of my contribution to the Metrics Review, I organised and hosted a workshop at the University of Warwick in January 2015 that aimed to explore the opportunities and challenges that possible increased reliance on metrics of impact and quality might have for the Humanities in particular. In order to put together a relevant event that would be useful to participants and also to the evidence and perspectives gathering that was central to the Review process, I based my planning and programming on insights, contacts and expertise that I had developed as part of this project, in particular with relation to impact measurement, which I my particular area of interest. The Metric Tide report is available for download on the HEFCE website: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/HEFCE,2014/Content/Pubs/Independentresearch/2015/The,Metric,Tide/2015_metric_tide.pdf More information on the workshop I organised, together with speakers presentations can be found on the HEFCE website (http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/Events/Name,101073,en.html). |
| First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Policy & public services |