scholarly journals Fighting Food Poverty through Film: Or Why Global Challenge Research Needs the Arts and Humanities

Humanities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Margaret Topping
Keyword(s):  
Research Impact ◽  
Present Discussion ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Central Case ◽  
Awareness Raising ◽  
Movement Building ◽  
Essential Contribution

Food poverty is just one example of a global challenge where the Arts and Humanities perspective risks being judged at worst to have no relevance at all, and at best to be included as no more than an accessible tool to facilitate public engagement and awareness-raising. How therefore can Arts and Humanities scholars articulate the value of their work in such a way that researchers in other fields are persuaded not only that it brings something new to their understanding of the issues, but that to tackle such questions without this input would leave a significant methodological gap in developing the pathway to research impact? The present discussion takes as its central case study an analysis of the strategies at play to tackle the question of food poverty in French filmmaker Agnès Varda’s 2000 film, Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse [The Gleaners and I]. It then uses this analysis as a springboard to explore how, as Arts and Humanities scholars, we might begin to translate better our methodologies and the unique power of our objects of study to disciplines which tend to dominate research on food security, poverty and sustainability or indeed other challenge-based research. To this end, the present discussion seeks to decipher the power of this methodology in terms of the unique capacity for ‘affect’ of the work of art, and ultimately argues for the essential contribution of Arts and Humanities researchers as ‘brokers’ for movement building and social change.

scholarly journals Critical thinking and the humanities: A case study of conceptualizations and teaching practices at the Section for Cinema Studies at Stockholm University

2020 ◽  
pp. 147402222094879
Author(s):  
Joel Frykholm
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Cinema Studies ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
Political Critique ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Alternative Facts ◽  
Scholarly Pursuit ◽  
Elusive Concept

The raison d’être of the humanities is widely held to reside in its unique ability to generate critical thinking and critical thinkers. But what is “critical thinking?” Is it a generalized mode of reasoning or a form of political critique? How does it relate to discipline-specific practices of scholarly pursuit? How does it relate to discourses of “post-truth” and “alternative facts”? How is it best taught? This essay explores these issues via a case study of conceptualizations of critical thinking among cinema scholars at Stockholm University, whose views are interpreted against the backdrop of (a) debates about the value of the humanities; (b) higher education scholarship on critical thinking; and (c) the legacy of certain disciplinary traditions within cinema studies, especially the paradigms of “post-theory” and “political modernism.” The interviews attest to the persistence of critical thinking as a fundamental, yet highly elusive, concept to higher education in the arts and humanities.

Researching Religion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Bruce
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Religion And Spirituality ◽  
Social Patterns ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
Shared Beliefs ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Social

Basic questions about religion in the modern world (such as whether it is becoming more or less popular and who believes what) can be answered only with the perspectives and methods of social science. While the arts and humanities can help us understand religious beliefs and behaviour, only social science can provide us with the evidence that will allow us to discern and explain the social patterns, causes, and consequences of religious belief. Only through the statistical examination of big data can we be confident of what any case study represents. In a text described by one reviewer as ‘brilliantly accessible’, an internationally renowned sociologist addresses the major problems of theory and methods in the study of religion. Important topics in religious studies such as conversion, the relative durability of different types of religion and spirituality, and the social circumstances that strengthen or undermine shared beliefs are used to demonstrate the importance of social science and to address methodological issues such as bias, partisanship, and research ethics. Bruce presents a robust defence of a conventionally scientific view of value-neutral social science against its partisan and postmodern critics.

The Academic Book of the Future

LOGOS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 80-90
Author(s):  
Samantha Rayner
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Research Council ◽  
British Library ◽  
Morte Darthur ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Future ◽  
Le Morte Darthur ◽  
Future Project

This paper explores the contexts in which the academic books of the future in the arts and humanities (A&H) are being shaped, with the aim of demonstrating how crucial it is that the communities of practice that produce those books continue to work together to build better bridges of understanding and collaboration. There is particular reference to the Arts and Humanities Research Council/ British Library Academic Book of the Future Project (2014–2017) and to a case study of Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur.

scholarly journals Creative Expression and Contemporary Arts Making Among Young Cambodians

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Rogers ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Young People ◽  
Creative Process ◽  
Khmer Rouge ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Conflict Settings ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Traditional Performance

This project analysed the creative practices and concerns of young adult artists (18-35 years old) in contemporary Cambodia. It examined the extent to which the arts are being used to open up new ways of enacting Cambodian identity that encompass, but also move beyond, a preoccupation with the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979). Existing research has focused on how the recuperation and revival of traditional performance is linked to the post-genocidal reconstruction of the nation. In contrast, this research examines if, and how, young artists are moving beyond the revival process to create works that speak to a young Cambodian population.The research used NGO Cambodian Living Arts’ 2020 Cultural Season of performances, workshops, and talks as a case study through which to examine key concerns of young Cambodian artists, trace how these affected their creative process, and analyse how the resulting works were received among audiences. It was funded through the AHRC GCRF Network Plus Grant ‘Changing the Story’ which uses arts and humanities approaches to ‘build inclusive societies with, and for, young people in post-conflict settings.

scholarly journals The role of educational technologists in the provision of language courses in higher education: a case study

2019 ◽  
pp. 7-12
Author(s):  
Christopher Allen ◽  
David Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Support Provision ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Humanities Faculty ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Information And Communication

In recent years, schools, municipalities, and universities have made increasing use of educational technologists (edtechs) to support teaching staff in the delivery of technology-based courses in face-to-face, blended, or purely online formats. This paper is a case study focusing on the types of training and support provision provided by three edtechs within the arts and humanities faculty of a large provincial university in southern Sweden. The edtechs also identify a number of obstacles in the way of developing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and computer assisted language learning expertise among teaching staff.

scholarly journals ARTS AND HUMANITIES BRIDGING ACROSS CONTINUUM OF CARE: CASE STUDY, GEORGETOWN LOMBARDI COMPREHENSIVE CENTER

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S29-S30
Author(s):  
Julia Langley
Keyword(s):  
Expressive Writing ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
Continuum Of Care ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The Arts

Abstract How does a hospital-based arts and humanities program build towards a better healthcare system for older patients, caregivers and medical professionals? The Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program (AHP) supports the continuum of care by encouraging a creative and constructive response to illness through the use of music, dance, expressive writing and visual arts. Artists-in-residence at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital work throughout the hospital, with in-patients and out-patients, in waiting rooms, intensive care units, and clinics. At the same time, the AHP recognizes the need to introduce the next generation of physicians, nurses, and medical professionals to the benefits of interacting with the arts to improve skills of observation, communication, empathy, and perspective-taking to serve all populations, especially older patients living with chronic illness. The AHP’s educational programs at the National Gallery of Art, and the IONA Senior Day Center will be highlighted along with their supporting evidence base

scholarly journals Do music festival communities address environmental sustainability and how? A Scottish case study

Popular Music ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Brennan ◽  
Jo Collinson Scott ◽  
Angela Connelly ◽  
Gemma Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Music Festivals ◽  
Music Festival ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
A Site

AbstractThis article discusses the findings of an Arts and Humanities Research Council project researching how music festival communities in Scotland can address issues of environmental sustainability and climate change. It investigates how music festival communities are constructed with a focus on what role, if any, they might play in responding to the global challenge of environmental sustainability. Using music festivals in Scotland as a case study, we employed a variety of research methods to interrogate different constituents in music festival communities about their views and behaviours regarding climate change and environmental sustainability. These included festival audiences via onsite questionnaires; festival organisers and promoters via interviews and focus groups; and musicians via creative practice-led research. We conclude that rather than necessarily being a site for progressive or utopian socio-cultural experimentation (as they are occasionally portrayed in festival literature), music festival communities engage in complex and often contradictory behaviours when it comes to responding to – and making sense of – their own complicity in social challenges such as climate change.

scholarly journals Widening HE participation in the arts: Impacts of an access module on learner preparedness

2021 ◽  
pp. 147402222110048
Author(s):  
John Butcher ◽  
Anactoria Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Time Management ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Interdisciplinary Study ◽  
The Impact

Despite the plethora of research on widening participation in the last 20 years, access to the arts and humanities has remained relatively under-explored, especially in relation to the preparedness of adult learners. This article reports a case study investigating the impact of an arts and languages Access module at the UK Open University. Findings from interviews with 37 Access students were analysed in relation to four themes: the need for Access preparation; generic studentship skills; discipline-specific skills; intrinsic enjoyment and interdisciplinary study. We conclude embedded generic skills enhance learner confidence and time management, while academic literacy skills relevant to the arts and humanities enhance cultural capital and enable disadvantaged learners to access challenging disciplines. The impact of a preparatory arts and humanities module extends into the lives of individual students, suggesting a counter-narrative to the prevailing, ‘economic value’ paradigms of higher education policymakers.

“Tradition,” Vernacularism, and Learning to Be a Folk Musician With Social Media

2020 ◽  
pp. 442-466
Author(s):  
Simon Keegan-Phipps ◽  
Lucy Wright
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Folk Music ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Shaping

This chapter considers the role of social media (broadly conceived) in the learning experiences of folk musicians in the Anglophone West. The chapter draws on the findings of the Digital Folk project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK), and begins by summarizing and problematizing the nature of learning as a concept in the folk music context. It briefly explicates the instructive, appropriative, and locative impacts of digital media for folk music learning before exploring in detail two case studies of folk-oriented social media: (1) the phenomenon of abc notation as a transmissive media and (2) the Mudcat Café website as an example of the folk-oriented discussion forum. These case studies are shown to exemplify and illuminate the constructs of traditional transmission and vernacularism as significant influences on the social shaping and deployment of folk-related media technologies. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the need to understand the musical learning process as a culturally performative act and to recognize online learning mechanisms as sites for the (re)negotiation of musical, cultural, local, and personal identities.

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