The Future of Social Sciences and Humanities
October 22-23, 2009, Brussels, Belgium

Background

This conference is the final conference of the SSH-FUTURES project commissioned by DG Research in the 6th Framework Programme. The project was completed by an international consortium headed by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Comparative Research in the Social Sciences (ICCR).
The Social Sciences and the Humanities have an important mission in the formation of the Knowledge Economy and Society and evidence-based politics. However, the role and contribution of the Social Sciences have not yet been fully comprehended. There are discrepancies between the potential importance of social science knowledge and the comparatively low attention it receives from politics, other research communities and the public in general.

The Social Sciences and, to a lesser extent, the Humanities have contributed to this phenomenon. The landscape is fragmented, as the Social Sciences and the Humanities are, to some degree, split according to national boundaries and disciplines, even sub-disciplines.

This leads to two major threats: to an over-emphasized claim to autonomy (the 'ivory tower' phenomenon), on the one hand, and a misunderstanding of what 'applied research' means for the Social Sciences and the Humanities ('consulting approach'), on the other.

How can the Social Sciences and the Humanities better cope with the needs of society? This is the key question that will decide on their future.
The issue is contingent on three elements: an understanding of what society’s needs are, what the Social Sciences and the Humanities have to offer and if knowledge-producing institutions can deliver the expertise requested.

In complex societies, it is evident that single disciplines cannot provide solutions to problems on their own. The co-operation between all types of knowledge producers is important and necessary. ‘Useful’ research combines knowledge from different disciplines. Hence, interdisciplinary research plays a key role in the acceptance of the new mode of knowledge production, which is expected better to address policy concerns and social demands. To reach society, the economy and the political system, good interaction is required between the different intellectual communities, an interaction that overcomes traditional feuds between schools and disciplines.

Downloads

Programme
Abstracts
CVs of Papergivers
List of Participants

Venue

Hotel Metropole
31, place de Brouckère
1000 Brussels
www.metropolehotel.com

 

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