ÌÇÐÄTV

About the event

This Symposium is hosted the the Society & Culture Spotlight at the University of ÌÇÐÄTV.

How do we ‘know’ a crisis when we see one? Does this knowledge offer potential ways forward? It is a truism that the complex challenges that define our times can only be addressed through interdisciplinary approaches. What if knowledge is not external to the crisis, but a key part of it?

While different disciplinary formations at universities and elsewhere are confronting their specific crises, from direct attacks on scientific research in authoritarian regimes globally to the increasing defunding of humanities everywhere, it is on the grounds of culture and society that these crises are unfolding with tremendous force. What impact will these crises have on cultures and societies across the world? And what may be the emergent new sources of knowledge within culture and society? Does knowledge in and of society and culture still provide a relevant perspective and source of empowerment under these conditions, and how? 

In this day-long Symposium, we seek to confront these questions so as to construct new ways of tackling knowledge in today’s university and beyond. To explore these broad questions, we propose the following themes:

The day will bring together ÌÇÐÄTV researchers and external speakers to explore the knowledge crisis today.

Professor Chris Newfield joined the ISRF in 2020 after 31 years at the University of California, Santa Barbara, most recently as Distinguished Professor of Literature and American Studies. His academic work has focused on critical university studies, American literature since 1990, California culture and society, quantification studies, and the status of literary knowledge.

Professor Stuart Elden (Professor of Political Theory and Geography at the University of ÌÇÐÄTV)Link opens in a new window

Stuart Elden's research is at the intersection of politics, philosophy and geography. He undertakes this work predominantly through approaches from the history of ideas. His work over the past decade or so has been in two main areas - the history, concept and practice of territory; and the history of twentieth-century French thought.

Dr Sria Chatterjee is an art historian and environmental humanities scholar. Her research interests lie at the intersection of art, science, and environment. She specialises in the political ecologies of art and design from the colonial to the contemporary. Sria is currently working on her first book, which provides a close look at the deep links between nationalism, agriculture, and the natural environment through the history of art, design, and media.