Stretching Disciplinary Boundaries: Discussing Possibilities at the Intersection of the Humanities and Social Sciences

A Panel Co-hosted by Mason's Center for Humanities Research and Center for Social Science Research

Friday, December 3, 2021 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EST
Virtual Zoom Event (link below)

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Event Description

The humanities and social sciences have rich, and often distinct, disciplinary norms and practices. What constitutes evidence, for instance, and the particular modes of interpretation in each tend to be quite different, even when there are shared commitments to producing a particular kind of knowledge. What are the disciplinary boundaries that separate the humanities and the social sciences? Where do they overlap? 

The CHR and CSSR have invited a panel of junior scholars who are working at the intersection of the humanities and social sciences to speak briefly about their work, and to reflect on their disciplinary identifications and methodological commitments in order to open up a larger discussion to consider what is made possible by thinking across disciplinary boundaries.  

Together, as a group, and also in breakout rooms, we will engage consideration of difficulties and new possibilities opened up by research projects that stretch across the humanities and social sciences.

Some of the questions our panelists might address

Where do you situate yourself with regards to the boundary between the humanities and the social sciences? What counts as evidence in your realm/discipline? What form does argument typically take? What’s made possible by thinking across disciplinary boundaries? What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered in the research process (anything from thinking of research questions, defining scope of projects, to seeking funding, publishing, etc)?
 
More about our panelists
 
Isidore Dorpenyo (Assistant Professor, English)
Shannon Fyfe (Assistant Professor, Philosophy)
Vivek Narayanan (Assistant Professor, English)
Amaka Okechukwu (Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology)
Jessica Otis (Assistant Professor, History and Art History)
Rick Smith (Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology)
 
Organized by
 
Amy Best (Director, Center for Social Science Research; Professor, Sociology and Anthropology)
Alison Landsberg (Director, Center for Humanities Research; Professor, History and Art History and Cultural Studies)
Catherine Olien (Associate Director, Center for Humanities Research)
 
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