Putting the spotlight on the humanities’ contributions to solving problems in society

“We have gathered speakers from Norway and abroad to get a broad and international perspective when discussing the humanities role in the social affairs debate,” Dean Sunniva Whittaker at the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the University of Agder (UiA) says.

The Research Council of Norway, Whittaker and her faculty are responsible for organising the conference at UiA in Kristiansand on 6 and 7 September.

Participating in debating social affairs

The background for the conference is the large humanities report “The Humanities in Norway” (Report to the Storting no. 25) which came last year. Among other things, the report states that the humanities must have a larger and clearer presence in the public debate.

“We always have to be conscious about the fact that our research and education shall be relevant for society and contribute to understanding and solving societal issues,” Whittaker says.

“Will the humanities solve societal issues?”

“We shall also contribute to it. Society is human-made. Most challenges contain human aspects and understanding and taking them into consideration in order to find good solutions is decisive. It is important to convey this through both education and research. At the same time, the humanities will carry out basic research and maintain, update and develop new knowledge about history, language, religion, types of social life and present time,” Whittaker says.

The humanities and societal challenges

The conference will include seminars on the humanities role regarding environment, technology, health, conflicts, war, art, law-abiding societies, democratisation and extremism.

There will be lectures about poems after the 2011 Norway attacks, humanism and technological and ethical challenges in public health services. Henrik Syse will speak about contemporary threats against democracy.

Professor Helen Small from the University of Oxford is one of the conference’s main speakers. She has been interested in the fundamental challenges of the humanities for a long time, which is one of the topics in her book “The Value of Humanities” (2013). Helen Small will speak about the cynicism she feels characterises the present time. Her lecture is named “The Function of Cynicism at the Present Time”.

Capitalism and ethics

“Our other main lecture will be held by Gary Morson. He will speak about what economists can learn from the humanities,” Whittaker says. She mentions how Adam Smith, who is regarded as the father of capitalism, had a much more nuanced message than what people usually attribute to him.

She hopes that the conference will help to make UiA researchers’ social involvement more visible.

“This is not a conference we hold just for ourselves. It is also an invitation to social researchers and realists who are interested in how the humanities can enrich other academic traditions and the societal challenges we all are facing,” Whittaker says.

So far, over 130 people have signed up for the conference. The closing date for registering has passed, but those who are still interested can contact Sunniva Whittaker directly.