ANNUAL CHCI REPORT

13-16 June 2012

The Humanities Research Centre will host a global conference on humanities and climate change as part of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI) from 13-16 June. This is the first time in over a decade that the annual meeting of this global consortium is being held in the southern hemisphere.

The CHCI was established in 1988 at the initiative of the University of California's Humanities Research Institute and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to serve as a forum for discussion on 'issues germane to cross-disciplinary activity in the humanities and as a network for the circulation of information and best practices related to the organisation and management of humanities centers and institutes'. From 2001-2006, the CHCI operated under the auspices of The Humanities Center at Harvard University. In 2007 it moved to Duke University under the direction of the Franklin Humanities Institute. Duke will continue to host the CHCI until 2017. The HRC is represented on the Board of this consortium and plays an important role in many of its initiatives.

The Annual Meeting theme and title, 'Anthropocene Humanities', refers to a concept propounded by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Paul J. Crutzen in 2000 to emphasize the central role of humankind in transforming the planet's ecological and geological make up. In recent years, we have seen a groundswell of interest among humanities scholars in addressing the challenge of climate change and other environmental problems. Our Annual Meeting is designed to generate stimulating interdisciplinary dialogue on this timely and important topic.

Confirmed events include a public lecture by Professor Ross Garnaut, author of Australia’s Climate Change review; keynote lectures and talks by academic experts including Dipesh Chakrabarty (University of Chicago), Elizabeth Povinelli (Columbia University), Paul Holm (Trinity College, Dublin), Libby Robin (ANU), Karen Pinkus (Cornell University), Iain McCalman (University of Sydney), Alison Bashford (University of Sydney), and Peter Veth (UWA).

The Meeting will also feature an art exhibition on Antarctica to be inaugurated by Professor Tom Griffiths, the renowned historian of Antarctica, and a musical performance by ANU harpist, Alice Giles,  Creative Arts Fellow on the 2010 Antarctica Expedition. Panels will feature themes such as  Indigenous Habitations/ Marine Ecologies; the Anthropocene and Human History; and Biopolitics and Climate Ethics.

The opening reception of the conference at the National Gallery of Australia is being co-sponsored by the Australian Academy of Humanities.

Information on the program can be found here