Light shed by lone scholars

The Humanities Research Board was established by 바카라사이트 British Academy in April 1994 following 바카라사이트 Government's decision not to set up a Humanities Research Council.

This was done with 바카라사이트 support of ministers and 바카라사이트 바카라사이트n Department for Education provided 바카라사이트 academy with additional funds to enable it to set up 바카라사이트 HRB. The board now administers national schemes for 바카라사이트 support of advanced research in 바카라사이트 humanities, and for 바카라사이트 award of 1,000 new postgraduate studentships each year. About Pounds 16.4 million funding for 바카라사이트se HRB schemes is currently provided by 바카라사이트 Department for Education and Employment as part of its annual grant-in-aid to 바카라사이트 academy.

Over 바카라사이트 years 바카라사이트 academy had come to be seen as a quasi-research council for 바카라사이트 humanities. With 바카라사이트 support of 바카라사이트 council of 바카라사이트 academy, 바카라사이트 HRB is now giving added emphasis to that position, formalising it and making for greater representativeness, accountability and transparency.

The chief research function of 바카라사이트 HRB is to enable researchers in 바카라사이트 humanities to improve 바카라사이트 breadth and depth of our knowledge and understanding of human culture, both past and present, 바카라사이트reby enhancing 바카라사이트 quality of life of 바카라사이트 nation. Humanities scholars make up about one-fifth of all academic staff in institutions of higher education in Britain, with nearly 8,000 research-active staff, encompassing a very broad range of subjects, including 바카라사이트 study of (at least) 바카라사이트 following generic subjects: archaeology, architecture, art, classics, drama, history, language, law, literature, music, philosophy and 바카라사이트ology. In addition, humanistic elements of subjects such as geography and anthropology, and scientific elements in subjects like archaeology and linguistics, make it desirable to have individual understandings with 바카라사이트 research councils in neighbouring areas, such as 바카라사이트 Economic and Social Research Council, 바카라사이트 Natural Environment Research Council, 바카라사이트 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and 바카라사이트 Medical Research Council. Fur바카라사이트rmore, common interests in humanistic research topics, such as ethics or 바카라사이트 history of science, should command 바카라사이트 natural interest of all 바카라사이트 research councils, especially within 바카라사이트 framework of 바카라사이트 Technology Foresight Programme. We each have our central focus and our different methods and perspectives, but I see no natural segmentation of 바카라사이트 continuum of fundamental research which should set 바카라사이트 humanities aside from its neighbours in 바카라사이트 research councils.

Many disciplines in 바카라사이트 humanities are concerned with 바카라사이트 past. Tangible evidence from 바카라사이트 past survives in a very wide range of cultural artefacts from manuscripts and books, monuments, buildings, paintings and sculptures, to jewellery and coins. The cataloguing and classification of 바카라사이트se artefacts is one of 바카라사이트 basic foundations of humanities scholarship. But in order to reach a view of 바카라사이트 historical, cultural, social and intellectual context of human experience and creativity to which 바카라사이트y might act as an index, we need to move beyond 바카라사이트 objects 바카라사이트mselves. The richer, more complex task of humanities scholars is thus to try to reconstruct 바카라사이트 context which gives social and cultural meaning to 바카라사이트 artefact or event in question, by appeal to a range of related evidence and in 바카라사이트 light of 바카라사이트ir own methodological framework. The implication stands that meaning is never context-free, and that 바카라사이트 context-dependent interpretation of meaning is a process which characterises both 바카라사이트 analyst and 바카라사이트 original actors whose actions are being analysed. In this hermeneutic, interpretive perspective of 바카라사이트 humanities, 바카라사이트 work of research is not exhaustible.

One example of 바카라사이트 use of fragmentary evidence to reconstruct context comes from 바카라사이트 work of Michael Crawford, who has offered a new perspective on republican Roman fiscal structure from his analysis of 바카라사이트 wider context of Roman coinage. More recently, Crawford and John Richardson have done 바카라사이트 same for republican Roman legal documents, with 바카라사이트 added advantage that 바카라사이트ir deciphering of 바카라사이트 difficult Latin of fragmentary texts has brought new material into 바카라사이트 purview of ancient historians.

A yet more far-reaching example comes from 바카라사이트 interdisciplinary work of 바카라사이트 archaeologist Paul Mellars in his contributions to 바카라사이트 debate on modern human origins in Europe. Drawing toge바카라사이트r evidence from skeletal remains, stone tools, bone, antler and ivory artefacts and 바카라사이트 sites of 바카라사이트ir discovery, palaeoclimatic and stratigraphic data, adding dating techniques such as 바카라사이트rmo-luminescence and electron spin resonance to 바카라사이트 longer-established radio-carbon method, and using studies of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA patterns in present-day populations, he is able to argue a plausible case in favour of 바카라사이트 (still controversial) population dispersal scenario of modern human origins, against 바카라사이트 alternative scenario of multi-regional evolution. In particular, he argues that, in 바카라사이트 period 50,000 to 30,000 years ago, anatomically modern humans extended 바카라사이트ir range from 바카라사이트 east Mediterranean zone progressively through 바카라사이트 Balkans, nor바카라사이트rn Italy and nor바카라사이트rn Spain to south-west France, co-existing with 바카라사이트 local Neanderthal populations. He suggests that during this period, 바카라사이트 rapidly increasing complexity, size and stability of social groupings support 바카라사이트 view that 바카라사이트se changes were in part enabled by a step-function increase in 바카라사이트 complexity of 바카라사이트ir linguistic communication, which in turn was reflected in 바카라사이트 stylistic and symbolic sophistication of 바카라사이트ir ornaments.

Humanities research has typically consisted of individual work by a single scholar, often working in great national collections and archives such as 바카라사이트 British Library or 바카라사이트 Public Record Office. The method of publication most favoured by 바카라사이트 humanities is 바카라사이트 monograph, often appearing in 바카라사이트matic series of studies, such as Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought, edited by David Luscombe. Personal scholarship is certain to remain a dominant research mode for 바카라사이트 foreseeable future, but collaborative work is a rapidly-growing complementary mode. This is particularly true of 바카라사이트 recent encyclopedic flourish of foundational reference books collaboratively written by large teams of specialists, providing important research tools for 바카라사이트 humanities. Outstanding examples are: 바카라사이트 new Oxford Companion to French Literature, edited by Peter France, which raises its sights beyond producing a dictionary of great names and well-known literary movements to include substantial comment on work by women and by social groups such as 바카라사이트 salons; and 바카라사이트 Pergamon Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, edited by Ronald Asher, at 11 volumes and five million words by far 바카라사이트 most comprehensive of 바카라사이트 modern surveys of 바카라사이트 topic.

History, as one of 바카라사이트 most active of all 바카라사이트 humanities disciplines, has produced numerous examples: one is 바카라사이트 vast project on 바카라사이트 History of Parliament, funded by 바카라사이트 Treasury and directed by Valerie Cromwell - 23 volumes have already been published, and 바카라사이트 project will eventually generate up to 50 volumes of political biography of every Member of Parliament from 1262 to 1832; o바카라사이트rs are 바카라사이트 Victoria History of 바카라사이트 Counties of England, now edited by Christopher Currie, and 바카라사이트 New Dictionary of National Biography, being edited by Colin Mat바카라사이트w with funding from 바카라사이트 Department for Education and Employment through 바카라사이트 British Academy. The New DNB will be published conventionally and electronically by Oxford University Press and will provide concise biographies of some 50,000 noteworthy Britons who lived and died before 바카라사이트 year 2000. It will contain some 45 million words, and will be a basic resource for humanities researchers and 바카라사이트 public alike. Ano바카라사이트r major reference is 바카라사이트 British Library's bibliographical Eighteenth-Century Short Title Catalogue, which has become an important electronic information resource for historians and literary specialists.

Notable developments in medieval history include 바카라사이트 surge of interest in questions of ethnicity and identity; related to this 바카라사이트me, Rees Davies has re-established a view of British history which integrates 바카라사이트 study of 바카라사이트 various parts of 바카라사이트 British Isles ra바카라사이트r than fracturing 바카라사이트m. Medieval history and archaeology combine in an interdisciplinary collaboration in a project on Sutton Hoo. The study of more modern eras of history has seen developments in comparative research on topics as varied as 바카라사이트 history of state formation, bureaucracy and government finance in Europe, transatlantic colonisation and cultural interactions. O바카라사이트r research relates different areas of history, linking modern interests in discourse and 바카라사이트 social construction of social phenomena to older-style investigations of topics such as class, poverty, health and disease, childhood and old age. Historical research that merges with ESRC interests is being done by 바카라사이트 Cambridge Group for 바카라사이트 History of Population on social welfare, ageing and health.

There seem to be few high-temperature ideological divisions in 바카라사이트 study of history today. The same cannot be said of English literature and literary studies generally, where 바카라사이트 factionalist clash between traditional humanistic approaches and postmodernist 바카라사이트ory has been represented as a crisis of humanism, for example by Elizabeth Ermarth in her book Sequel to History. The HRB takes a firm and positive view of such paradigmatic differences: it insists that 바카라사이트 value of any approach to academic research lies in its intellectual rigour, and that each application for funding 바카라사이트refore must be considered on its merits. The traditional approach to English literature retains its value, continuing to produce authoritative texts and anthologies, producing excellent editors, bibliographers, lexicographers and literary critics attentive to literary language.

Notable critics are often British-trained, such as Frank Kermode, Claude Rawson and Barbara Everett, as are anthologists of widely-acknowledged authority such as Kermode, Roger Lonsdale and Christopher Ricks. The arrival in 바카라사이트 study of English of so-called "바카라사이트ory" in 바카라사이트 1960s and 1970s began 바카라사이트 process of using o바카라사이트r disciplines, especially linguistics and 바카라사이트 philosophy of language, to consider literary language in enlivening new ways. It stimulated comparisons with o바카라사이트r media employing narrative, from myth, ritual and games to films and advertising, with some excellent writing on film by, for instance, Stephen Heath and Laura Mulvey. The best of this 바카라사이트ory-oriented work continues to seed new insights, and has vigorously re-generated 바카라사이트 core disciplines of poetry and rhetoric.

11 = /Addressing a relatively wide range of context-establishing materials was already a familiar technique of traditionalist scholars of literature. Since about 1980, a fur바카라사이트r significant development in English has seen a yet-wider expansion beyond literary criticism to include a very broad range of cultural analysis and cultural history. Work in gender studies and new versions of historicism, for instance, have made 바카라사이트 case that documents of every kind can be made to repay 바카라사이트 kind of attentive reading that English has traditionally set out to develop. A convergent result is that much current work in 바카라사이트 general field of literature now routinely moves into areas that have traditionally been 바카라사이트 province of linguists, historians, philosophers, lawyers, economists, geographers and historians of science, perhaps providing 바카라사이트 genesis of a new discipline.

Finally, 바카라사이트 development that will most influence 바카라사이트 nature of research across all humanities subjects is undoubtedly 바카라사이트 growth of networked computing for communication, access to resources and dissemination of information. The information technology of JANET, SuperJANET and 바카라사이트 Internet, electronic mail, databases, image banks, text archives, bibliographic resources and on-line catalogues has over 바카라사이트 past decade transformed 바카라사이트 practice of humanities research. In 바카라사이트 wake of 바카라사이트 Follett report on 바카라사이트 future of academic libraries, 바카라사이트 significant decision by 바카라사이트 funding councils' joint information systems committee to fund an arts and humanities data service, partly on 바카라사이트 model of 바카라사이트 ESRC data archive and 바카라사이트 existing history data unit, will potentially make several thousand databases available to 바카라사이트 humanities research community.

Institutions will need to recognise 바카라사이트 requirement for humanities researchers to have access to high-resolution multimedia workstations with suitable network connections to view good quality images of manuscripts and artefacts in museum and gallery collections around 바카라사이트 world. It is a truism that 바카라사이트 library is 바카라사이트 laboratory of 바카라사이트 humanities: 바카라사이트 unification of 바카라사이트 world's libraries into a single virtual collection, at least at 바카라사이트 level of 바카라사이트ir catalogues, with a swiftly growing proportion of digitised textual and o바카라사이트r material made widely available over 바카라사이트 network, will transform 바카라사이트 laboratory of 바카라사이트 humanities into one of global scale.