The purpose of ECHIC is to provide a forum to discuss important issues in the field of arts and humanities. More specifically, the Consortium aims to speak up on behalf of members in dialogues with ESF, EU and others on matters concerning humanities research and to establish a network for mutual benefit and possible identification of partners for European research collaboration ECHIC is committed to organize an annual Humanities Conference at one member institution which would involve all partners and interested stakeholders. For additional information on ECHIC, visit http://www.echic.org/

PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME

The conference will have five components:

A) Academic papers on the four themes mentioned below
B) A parallel coordinators session
C) An institutional forum
D) An extended digital evening programme
E) A business meeting for ECHIC members

A) The general conference theme Grand Challenges for the Humanities is organized around four scientific panels. Each panel will be introduced by a keynote speaker and will consist of two other paper presentations. The themes of the panels in 2012 will be:

1. Environmental Humanities. Convener: Prof. Poul Holm (Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin)
2. Civic responsibility of the Humanities. Convener: Prof. Susan Manning (Institute for Advanced Research in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh)
3. Global Humanities. Convener: Prof. Rosi Braidotti (Centre for the Humanities, Utrecht University(
4. Cognitive Humanities. Convener: Prof. Marxiano Melotti

Please send 300-word abstracts for papers on one of these four themes plus a short bio to info@echic.org. The deadline for proposals is January 15, 2012. ECHIC intends to publish a selection of papers in a peer/reviewed journal dedicated to arts and humanities.

B) There will be a parallel coordinators’ session entitled Supporting Content: Policy Management, Finances & Communication Strategies for Humanities Institutes and Centres, for coordinators and administrators of Humanities centres and institutions. This parallel session will focus on three practical topics: Best practices in funding Best practices in assessment Best practices in communication The panel coordinator is Esther Rinkens (Centre for the Humanities, Utrecht University)

C) There will be an Institutional Forum for international policy makers in the field of the Humanities, which will welcome speakers from the ESF, ALLEA, Net4Society, The Dutch Research Organization and the European Commission.

D) As an extended evening cultural programme, we are happy to present a series of events on the: Digital Humanities, which will highlight the relevance of classical Humanities fields such as musicology, media studies and linguistics for contemporary digital culture.

E) The conference will be closed by a business meeting for all ECHIC members, for which a separate agenda will be circulated closer to the date.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

You can register for this conference by filling out the form on the ECHIC website: http://www.echic.org. Please use the comments section of the form to indicate whether you are working as a coordinator/administrator at your institute. The registration fee is EUR300 (including 2 lunches, 2 dinners and refreshments) and instructions for payment will be sent to you once your registration has been confirmed. The conference registration deadline is February 5, 2012.

DRAFT CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Tuesday February 28
15:00-16:00: Arrival & registration of participants
16:00-17:00: Opening lecture
17:00-18:00: Extended Digital Humanities Programme
18:00-21:00: Welcoming drinks & dinner

Wednesday February 29
09:00-09:30: Opening Conference
09.30-11.00: Panel 1
11.15-12.45: Panel 2
Lunch Break
14.00-15.30: Panel 3
15.45-17.15: Panel 4
14:00-17:00: Parallel Coordinators’ Session
18:30-22:30: Dinner + cultural digital programme

Thursday March 1
09.30-11.30: Institutional Forum
11.30-12.00: Closing conference
12.00-13.30: Business meeting ECHIC members