Director's Message

We have been hearing for some years now about a crisis in the humanities. There has been much talk, for example, about the economic value of arts degrees and the prospects for graduates from BA programs.  But in fact studies in both the US and Canada have shown that humanities graduates do very well in terms of employment and moreover, they report higher job satisfaction than graduates from many other fields.  Equally importantly, we have always seen at the CIH that there is a real interest in the humanities both inside and outside the university. And further, there is a wide-spread appreciation for humanities perspectives on topics such as gene editing, energy transition, and space exploration: topics which might seem beyond the purview of a traditional humanities approach and all of which were addressed last year at the CIH.  I would argue that the humanities perspective is, if anything, even more vital in the dawning age of AI, where too many people are ignoring the “artificial” in “artificial intelligence”: the humanities teach us to think and to read critically, activities which cannot be outsourced to algorithms that offer simulations of thought rather than real thinking.

As you’ll see in the pages that follow, in the past year we’ve hosted a lively series of events on topics ranging from the Russian war on Ukraine to the ethics of designer babies, and attendance at our talks is as high as it’s ever been.  Our annual community seminar, on Re-Imagining Death, was our best-attended in years, with a large waiting list of people who unfortunately had to be turned away.

As usual, the CIH hosted an exceptional group of scholars from across the humanities as resident fellows, as well as two advanced doctoral candidates.  This year’s lunch-time discussions were enriched by the presence of artists-in-residence, Mia + Eric, who will be with the CIH for a three-year pilot project with the support of the Azrieli Accelerator program.  Our Public Humanities program welcomed three doctoral students who undertook research for three community organizations: the Confluence Centre, the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society and Simon House.  And our interdisciplinary working groups continue to undertake vital exploratory conversations.

Our public lecture series started the year off with a deeply learned and highly accessible talk on Russian homophobia and the assault on Ukraine, by Oxford professor Dr. Dan Healey.  The second annual Egmont Lee Founders’ Lecture was given by Dr. Mushegh Asatryan, who gave a fascinating account of the culture of debate in the Abbasid Empire. For our Naomi Lacey Memorial Lecture, film scholar Dr. Lee Carruthers spoke about late and last works to a lively group of students, faculty and community members. The fifth annual Applied Ethics lecture was given by Dr. Françoise Baylis, the incoming president of the Royal Society of Canada, who addressed the ethics of editing the human genome.  And our 44th annual community seminar looked at how conceptions of death have changed in relation to the decline of organized religion, the rise of environmentalism, and the appearance of social media. We had three excellent speakers along with a guest artist/curator, and a special musical performance via ChamberFest West.

Another highlight of the year was the publication of the fourth volume in our series with UCalgary Press, Mythologies of Outer Space. This beautifully produced book was based on presentations from our 41st community seminar, along with new contributions from Calgary scholars and artists, and an afterward by astronaut and former UCalgary chancellor Dr. Robert Thirsk, who discussed the importance of humanities perspectives on space exploration.  The book’s appearance received lots of press attention, and we were delighted to give a presentation to a lively crowd of over two hundred people at one of the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory’s space nights, featuring some of the contributors to the book.

While the talk of a crisis in the humanities cannot be ignored, there is ample evidence that it is largely based on misperceptions.  The humanities are vital, the perspectives they offer are crucial, and at least in our experience, they are much valued by the community at large.  I hope that you’ll enjoy reading about our activities in the pages that follow, and that you’ll find the time to join in our conversations in the coming year.

- Jim Ellis, Director, CIH