| Towards a Center of Excellence for the Study of Humanities in the Age of Globalization | Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University |
| Historical Structure of Creation and Development of the Humanities in Europe |
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| Prospectus When it is known what direction research in the humanities will take in the age of globalisation, it may safely be said that we will find one of the best and richest sources of reference in Europe, for it is here the humanities were born, developed and nurtured during the course of European history. This research project, entitled "The Historical Structure of the Creation and Development of the Humanities", is an attempt to elucidate the creation and development of the humanities in many dimensions, mainly from the perspective of historical studies. What we refer to here as the 'humanities' was born in ancient Greece and evolved during the course of European history. It includes not only philosophy, history and literature, but also other subjects that have been studied and taught, with great diversity, in modern systems of higher education. Our project will look not just at the elite class (who have historically been assumed to be highly cultured) but also at the status of 'knowledge' among the general public, aiming to illuminate how 'culture' (or cultivation) was moulded and acquired over the entire history of Europe and, eventually, what the 'humanities' meant within society as a whole. In the first year of our project, we aim to shed light on how the humanities, and their underlying ideas and mentalities, actually developed in Europe, particularly in the modern age. In the process of the develop- ment of the humanities, the role played by the universities has surfaced as an important issue during our research. We have also come to recognise that, regarding the thoughts that pillared the development of the humanities - Humanism and the Enlightenment in particular - truly understanding their substance will require profound additional knowledge of their relationship with politics and society. In order to obtain a deeper insight into these questions, we have organised a symposium that will examine these points more closely. We will invite two leading historians from abroad as well as two Japanese scholars who have published stimulating views on these issues. After presentations by these four people, we will also invite all participants to join a general discussion session. The humanities comprised a foundation that all European intellectuals shared in the early modern age. These people, equipped with Latin (later, French) as an international language, were bound together by their admiration for bonae litterae and often had intellectual exchanges beyond national or religious borders. In that sense, it may be said that it was the Classics that united the "republic of letters" (respublica litteraria; republique de lettres) of modern Europe, sometimes referred to as the "second European union" (Krzysztof Pomian). In the "republic of letters" spanning from the Atlantic coast to Poland and Lithuania, what sort of people upheld the humanities, and in what ways did they link with social or political practice? Was there any difference in the attitudes of the intellectuals to the humanities between the Renaissance (16th-17th centuries) and the Enlightenment (18th century)? At the symposium, the first speaker, Dr. Edward Opalinski, will discuss what meanings the humanities carried in political practices of 16th -17th century Poland. Prof. Toshimi Morimura will then examine what functions the historical knowledge of Classical Antiquity had in discussions on luxury and commerce by 18th-century French philosophers. The discussions of these speakers will help us to consider the nature of the humanities in early modern Europe and the differences between regions and periods from the perspective of comparative historical studies. The remarkable development of the humanities in modern Europe cannot be discussed without regard to universities, which grew so rapidly both in quality and scale as institutions for research and education in the humanities from the 19th century onwards. For this, following the reviews of the humanities in the early modern age by the two speakers, we will endeavour to discover the true picture of the development of research and education in the humanities and its relationship with universities, in order to identify the characteristics and social meanings the humanities carried from the 19th century onwards. To begin with, Prof. Dr. Werner Eck will review how research and education in the field of Ancient History developed in modern Germany, the roles the universities have played, as well as the social meanings carried by research and education in Ancient History and Classics. Then Prof. Dr. Yasunori Kasai, who has a speciality in both classics and jurisprudence, will discuss the development of classical studies in Britain, their social significance, and the roles played by British universities from the 19th century onwards. He will focus primarily on Oxford, making comparisons with jurisprudence and education, both practical disciplines, unlike Classics. These reviews will provide us with effective clues for a deep understanding of why studies in Ancient History and Classics - the heritage of ancient Mediterranean civilizations - flourished in Britain and Germany, countries far away from the Mediterranean region. The presentations will also help us to understand why these subjects developed into the most important disciplines within the humanities, and why they experienced difficulties later on. These papers will highlight the strong current of the humanities and Humanism that bolstered them throughout the history of modern Europe, enabling us to understand not only how this tradition was shaped but also what changes it has undergone. A general discussion session will follow the presentations and comments, during which many of the important issues raised will be discussed Although this symposium does not intend to make hasty conclusions based on the questions raised and discussed, the organizer hopes that it will bear fruit which will help to point the way forward for future studies into the humanities appropriate for the new millennium. It is also hoped that the symposium will offer very valuable suggestions to teachers and students engaged in the study and education of the humanities at Japanese universities as they undoubtedly face a future of many changes. |
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| 21th-century COE Program Towards a Center of Excellence for the Study of Humanities in the Age of Globalization 13th Research Group Historical Structure of Creation and Development of the Humanities in Europe |
Contact Address Dept. of European History, Graduate School of Letters Kyoto University, Kyoto-city, 606-8501, Japan Tel & Fax: 075-753-2791 |