Re-inventing Humanities: Possibilities and Prospects in the Face of Crisis

Chandigarh

Organization: Panjab University, Chandigarh

Event Date: 2024-11-28 to 2024-11-29 Abstract Due: 2024-10-10

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In the wake of neoliberalism, academia is increasingly turned into a market imperative, marked by the rising global popularity of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses and the concomitant reduction in funding for humanities departments. This situation presents a crisis for the Humanities and the values and forms of knowledge it stands for. This crisis is manifesting itself in ways such as the persistent gap among disciplines as well as between scholarship and lived experiences. The breakdown of disciplinary boundaries and the consequent intermingling of Humanities and Sciences has led to the rise of new knowledge systems.

In Plant Humanities, Monica Gagliano's research on plant intelligence challenges anthropocentric views, offering new insights into the complex interactions between humans and non-human life. In the realm of Medical Humanities, Rita Charon's work on narrative medicine underscores the importance of storytelling in healthcare, advocating for a more empathetic and patient-centered approach. The field of Geohumanities, for instance, has been enriched by the work of scholars like Deborah Dixon, who explores the intersections between geography and the humanities, emphasizing the cultural and spatial dynamics that shape human understanding of the environment. All the same, Indian Philosophy and Indigenous Knowledge Systems have also played a crucial role in this intellectual reinvention as evident in the works of scholars like B.K. Matilal.

Concomitant to the emergence of these new fields that are hailed as the new ‘present’, there is a disparity in accessibility and reception of these fields. Thus, it becomes the prerogative of these new fields to address these issues of disparity and chart out a more inclusive path toward a better future. 

This seminar in its aim of questioning the dithering standpoint toward Humanities, intends to highlight its capacity to address these challenges. By becoming both inter- and trans-disciplinary, Humanities is being reinvented through engagement with new disciplines and the incorporation of the indigenous and local knowledge systems within its purview. The reinvention and reconfiguration of the knowledge regimes elide the essentialist comprehension of the Humanities, instead becoming a gateway which stands at the intersection of culture, technolgy and society. Furthermore, the conference seeks to interrogate the emerging ethical conundrums associated with the practices that constitute our social reality, in the wake to formulate solutions for the further progress of Humanities in both academia as well as the non-institutionalised domain of the everyday. 

Moving across disciplines, the seminar aims to facilitate discussions around the following themes: 

· New Materialism(s) and Embodiments of Technology

· Beyond Anthropocene

· Promises and Phobias of AI

. AI-Language Axis

· History of Science; Philosophy of Science

· Ethics, Self and the Other

· Emerging Neuro-ethics

· Performance Ethnographies

· Affect and Narrative

· Discourses around Borders and Refugees

. Language Testing and Citizenship

· Indigenous Populations and Minority

· Contesting the Established and Institutionalised

· Undoing Power: Travesties and Parodies

· Dynamics of Space and Time

· Architecture and Affordance of Space

· Indian Art and Aesthetics

· Indian Philosophy and Knowledge Systems

· Trends in Translation Studies

. Machine Translation

. Translanguaging

· Mediascapes and Digital Networks

· Artificality of Life

· Memory and Commemoration

· Climate Change and the Future

· Literature, Laboratory & Policy Making 

Abstracts of up to 200 words with 4-5 keywords, accompanied by a short bio of 50-70 words, are invited from research scholars and young teachers by 30.09.2024 (date extended till 10.10.2024). Selected abstracts will be notified by 10.10.2024. The last date to submit full-length papers of 3000-5000 words is 10.11.2024. The papers should be formatted according to the MLA Handbook (9th edition).

For Abstract Submission, fill the Google form here: https://forms.gle/xAV77EAoqKFuDTzq9

Selected candidates are required to pay the registration fee by 15.10.2024. The details for the same are:

For Research Scholars (From Panjab University Campus and Colleges in UT): Rs. 1500/-

For Research Scholars (From Outside UT of Chandigarh): Rs. 1500/- + 18% GST

For Young Teachers (From Panjab University Campus and Colleges in UT): Rs. 2500/-

For Young Teachers (From Outside UT of Chandigarh): Rs. 2500/- + 18% GST

Certificates will be provided to all paper presenters. Please note that for papers with multiple authors, all coauthors must pay the registration fee to receive individual certificates.

Note: No travel allowance will be paid to the paper presenters. Moderate accommodation on additional payment, if possible, will be provided. Selected papers can be considered for publication in dialog—a biannual peer-reviewed journal, or an edited anthology.

Further details will be shared at a later stage. Please reach out at reinventinghumanities@gmail.com or +91-8493860767 (Arun Jot Kaur), +91-9878745221 (Vikas Chaudhary) for any queries.

reinventinghumanities@gmail.com

Dr. Sudhir Mehra