Hosted in conjunction with the Research Centre for Human Values (RCHV) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, this workshop will address questions pertaining to the importance and means of promoting the humanities. This conference is the first in a series of conferences by the RCHV aimed at promoting discussion and research concerning questions involving human values across various disciplines.
Speakers invited include:
Professor Malcolm Gillies
Vice-Chancellor of the Metropolitan University of London, and former President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
Professor Michael Holquist
Russian and Slavonic Languages, Yale University and Past President of the Modern Languages Association
Professor Stephen Prickett
Regius Professor Emeritus, University of Glasgow
Regius Professor Emeritus, University of Glasgow
Professor Shun Kwong Loi
Professor of Philosophy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor of Philosophy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor Lee Ou Fan
Wei Lun Professor of the Humanities, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Questions being addressed will include:
- Why are the humanities important and valuable in the contemporary world? What kinds of value do the humanities currently have in a city largely focused on wealth generation? What kinds of value could they potentially have?
- How can we draw on the cultural heritage of both China and the West to understand why the humanities are valuable in our specific context?
- How can these values be articulated so that they will be understood within a largely utilitarian ethos? How can the profile of the humanities be significantly raised?
- How can the work of the humanities within competing institutions be consolidated? What kinds of platforms or institutions are needed for advocacy and the recognition of excellence in the humanities across a large city, state or country?