Wiley Humanities Festival 2018: Why Technology Matters: The Humanities in the 21st Century

The field of humanities is changing rapidly, along with the world, as new technologies alter centuries of tradition in various disciplines. In this, the third year of the Wiley Humanities Festival, we’ll focus on the digital humanities, and how technology has revolutionized the way the humanities will be taught, learned, and researched for years to come.

The festival will take place Thursday, September 13^th, and will conclude with our free webinar, which looks at why technology matters, especially within the humanities in the twenty-first century. Below you’ll find brief introductions for the participants of our webinar.

Register now for the webinar and join us on September 13^th to take part and learn more about the digital humanities.

Steve has a lifelong commitment to the fundamental mission of teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences.  After graduating in philosophy from McGill University in Montreal and Oxford University, Steve embarked upon a career in SSH publishing spanning over twenty-five years — first at Blackwell Publishers in Oxford UK, and then at Wiley in Boston MA.  Steve has served in various editorial capacities, including as editorial director of the social sciences and humanities books program during a period of transformational change.  Amongst other things, Steve helped lead and launch the creation of Blackwell Reference Online, the world’s largest and most authoritative digital reference resource, and Wiley’s ambitious portfolio of eMRWs.  In more recent years, Steve has been focusing on strategic development and the fast-growing open access program at Wiley.

Professor Kingsley Bolton joined Nanyang Technological University in 2013, as Professor of English Linguistics and Head of the Language and Communication Centre. Professor Kingsley Bolton has published sixteen books (edited and authored), and more than eighty journal articles and book chapters. He is Co-Editor of the Wiley journal, World Englishes. He is also a Member of the Editorial Boards of Applied Linguistics Review, Educational Studies, English Today, English World-Wide, Global Chinese, and the Journal of World Languages. Professor Bolton served as Elected President of the International Association for World Englishes from 2003-04, is a Founding Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy for the Humanities, and Professor Emeritus of Stockholm University, Sweden.

Miranda Richardson has been Editor of the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, published for the Nautical Archaeology Society, for the past six years. A love of sailing, diving, and an archaeology education and career, followed by a stint in newspaper journalism, brought her to the role, of which she says: ‘How could I not love it? I get to sail both around the world and through time, at least in my imagination’. The constraints of working under water have made maritime archaeologists early adopters of new technologies and encouraged them to use digital means to present current research to both academic audiences and the general public.

Lizzie Brophy is currently a Senior Journals Publishing Manager at Wiley where she manages a list of Political Science, Archaeology, and Geography journals. Her background is in Classical Archaeology, and she completed her DPhil in Ptolemaic and Roman Royal Sculpture at Oxford in 2015. Since joining Wiley as a Journals Publishing Assistant in 2015, she has been putting those research skills to use, especially thinking about journal metrics and the role of social media in the research landscape.

We hope you’ll join us for a lively discussion of the evolution of the humanities!

More Questions from Wiley’s Migration Webinar Roundtable

Last Friday, I was thrilled to have Dr. Serena Parekh, Dr. Immanuel Ness, and Dr. Reenee Singh join me for an hour long webinar discussion on the Syrian refugee crisis and the wider implications of global migration.

The three panelists discussed the refugee crisis in terms of children’s welfare, globalization, media coverage and bias, government aid, and the impact of these types of crises on families. Parekh, Ness, and Singh all made insightful points. Dr. Parekh discussed the relationship between concepts of statehood and boundaries, and how borders become permeable in our digital age and are a form of exclusion – harmful to human rights. Dr. Ness pointed out that government aid from neighboring countries and the countries of the UN is great, but there should also be a burden of aid on the countries that are forcing refugees to leave in the first place. And Dr. Ness shared her experiences as a family therapist in helping families address new the culture in which they are now living, and how to manage the stress of new multicultural lifestyles.

I want to thank our panelist for an impactful discussion. During the roundtable, we answered a few questions from our listeners, but we didn’t manage to answer them all. Below are two more questions from our listeners, answered by our panelists.

How are the receiving local authorities handling the pressure of such influx and are they readily equipped? -Marjory, Student, South Africa

IN:  Destination countries have a range of policies on migration, depending on labor skill, population shortage, and causes of population shifts.  In the European context today, the passage of migrants is creating political pressures on the governments in the Balkans and in Eastern and Central Europe, due to growing xenophobia against foreigners of Muslim dissent.  We are even seeing growing nationalism in Germany, with the growth of the right-wing social movement, Pergida.  In response, tensions are rising and government leaders are scrambling to arrive at coherent policies through imposing border control or persuading sending countries to create safe havens for refugees.

Can you speak to the cultural shock and differences that arise between refugees and the nationals of the hosting country? – Mary, PhD Candidate, Canada

IN: Those refugees who have traveled as far as Europe are likely to have higher levels of education and skills and often the same religious traditions.  Eastern European leaders have permitted the migration of Catholic and Eastern Right emigres from Syria but are reticent to allow Muslims to enter and settle in their countries.  However, Germany was a recipient of tens of thousands of Turks in the post-war years who filled job shortages, and many stayed permanently and have been absorbed into the national fabric of the country.   The new wave of migrants are refugees, and may also contribute to the economic expansion of Central and Eastern European economies.  However, it is also possible that they could tighten labor markets and work for lower wages, expanding unemployment and the reserve army of labor.

RS:  Refugees suffer from what Renos Papadopoulos would describe as ‘nostalgic disorientation’ which is about missing the sights, sounds and smells of home.  Everything in the host country can seem strange and confusing. Many refugees do not come from welfare states and do not know how such complex systems in the Western world work.  This is compounded with language difficulties. Sometimes, one family member (often the man) can remain loyal to their country of origin while women, especially women with children, tend to adapt more quickly to the host county.  Children will often take on the roles of translators and cultural guides for the families, creating inversions of gendered and generational roles. Further, the notions of how ‘the family’ is constructed and what constitutes mental health, problems and their treatment varies greatly from one culture to another. Refugees may experience the lack of fit between their belief systems and those of the host country.

Keep checking back on the Philosopher’s Eye next week, where we will be posting two more blogs from A.M Findlay, editor of Population, Space and Place, and Antipode.

Samantha Green, Marketing Manager, Wiley MA candidate in Children’s Literature, Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science

Virtual Roundtable Discussion on Migration and the Refugee Crisis

 

At the end of 2014, there were an estimated 19.5 million refugees worldwide. This crisis was drawn once again into sharp light as Syrian refugees flooded Europe in recent months. Many of these people are families with children, forced to flee their homes or risk their safety.

Join us Friday, October 16, 12:00pm – 1:00pm EST for a virtual roundtable discussion on migration and the refugee crisis. Our panel of experts span the social sciences and humanities to examine issues of refugees and migration ranging from ethics, family studies, and geo-political. Register today as seating is limited!

Our Panelists

Dr. Immanuel Ness is a professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. Editor-in-Chief of The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration, Ness’ research focuses on labor, urban political economy, migration, imperialism, and social mobilizations, worker insurrections, strikes, solidarity in Global North and Global South.

He is a labor activist who founded the New York Unemployed Committee, Lower East Side Community-Labor Coalition and labor organizer for several unions.

 

Dr. Serena Parekh is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Northeastern University, where she also holds the position as Director of the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics Program. Her primary research interests are in social and political philosophy, feminist theory, continental philosophy, and the philosophy of human rights.

Dr. Parekh has contributed to noted journals such as Hypatia, Philosophy Compass, and The Southern Journal of Philosophy. She is also the Editor of the APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy.

 

Dr. Reenee Singh is a family therapist based in London at the House Partnership. She is also Co-Director at the Tavistock and UEL Family Therapy and Systemic Research Centre as well as Editor of the Journal of Family Therapy.

Singh holds a particular interest in the intersection of therapy, race and culture. She attributes her personal history and cultural context, growing up in India and having lived and worked in Singapore, as an influence her approach to therapy, research, supervision and training.