10
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 3 MARCH 2019
CAMPUS NEWS
REGIONAL HUMANITIES WORKSHOP
focuses on Rejuvenation
B Y S A B R I N A V A I L L O O
It was German-born physicist Albert Einstein,
one of the
greatest scientific minds to ever live, who said “all religions,
arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.”
If that’s the case, certain branches are more healthy and
flowering than others. As our technological advancement
continues its relentless forwardmomentumand competition
in global markets grows ever fiercer, the arts are losing
ground, particularly in academia.
“As a historian, I cannot help but worry over the changes
that threaten to overwhelm the humanities,” says Professor
Robert Zaretsky of the University of Houston, in a recent
article in
The Chronicle of Higher Education
.
In the Caribbean, the humanities are feeling it as well.
From the secondary to the tertiary education level, subjects
such as history, English literature and certain languages are
seeing persistent decline in student interest.
In response,The UWI Regional Office of the University
Registrar and the Faculties of the Humanities and Education
(FHEs) jointly hosted “Transforming the Humanities”, a
workshop for staff, students, and the public. They came
together to find ways to re-energise the humanities and
better communicate their potential for the development of
Caribbean society.
The workshop convened on February 14, 2019 at
The UWI Regional Headquarters, Mona Campus. Online
audiences joined their Cave Hill, Mona and St Augustine
colleagues through Zoom. Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir
Hilary Beckles welcomed on campus and online attendees.
FHE Deans from St Augustine, Mona, and Cave Hill
(Dr Heather Cateau, Professor Waibinte Wariboko, and
Professor Evelyn O’Callaghan respectively) spoke at the
workshop. Dr Heather Hemming, Vice President Academic
at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada, gave the
keynote address.
UWI St Augustine Campus Principal Professor Brian
Copeland, speaking on innovation and entrepreneurship,
said the nexus of science and art was instrumental to
innovation. “Studies have shown that creativity cuts across
disciplines,” he said.
Not enough people seem to be getting the message.
In her remarks, Dr Cateau noted the declining student
enrolment at the St Augustine Campus in subjects such as
history, carnival studies, linguistics, French, early childhood
care and education, and teaching English to speakers of
other languages (TESOL).
The picture was similar across campuses. Pro Vice-
Chancellor of The UWI Board for Undergraduate Studies
Professor Alan Cobley compared the 2015/2016 academic
year with 2016/2017; it showed total enrolment in the
FHEs on all four campuses (including the Open Campus)
was lower.
This is not just a tertiary-level phenomenon.
Unsurprisingly, the data correlates falling FHE enrolment
with falling CSEC enrolment between 2014 and 2018 for
secondary school humanities subjects. This was echoed at
the CAPE level over the same period.
That is how you get an Einstein who, not only was
trained in music from childhood, but once said that if he
were not a scientist, he would have been a musician and
that he
thought
in music.
Right now in secondary school or at The UWI, there
may be a Caribbean Einstein, or Marie Curie (a gymnast in
her younger years before becoming a Nobel Prize winning
scientist), or even an actress like Hollywood film star Hedy
Lamarr, an inventor who developed technology used in the
US Navy.
The humanities can be an asset – once the tree is
properly maintained.
The workshop, however, was about much more
than identifying the issues. Participants came
bearing solutions. Dr Cateau proposed several
strategies for widening access (including more
flexible entry requirements, new programmes,
and expanding programmes into its South
Campus), and for moving the humanities from
the abstract to the applied. These included
re-engineering traditional disciplines and
aligning programmes more closely to the
developmental needs of the region.
She emphasised the importance of
partnerships between the campuses as well
as other institutions:
“
Our small size means that the demand
in certain specialisations per campus
may prove to be challenging. Thus, we
need cross campus and in some cases
international collaboration to develop
these areas
.”
She also said that theDepartment
of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA)
and film students would benefit from
the next phase of development through the
creation of graduate programmes.
“We think that the last 10 years have been
about introducing these new areas (creative
and festival arts and film) to the University at the
Bachelor of Arts level. The next phase is to develop
graduate programmes,” she said.
Dr Cateau also spoke on the strategy of “inter-
disciplinarity”, partnering the humanities with other
disciplines.
In his presentation, Professor Cobley spoke on the
humanities and their role in developing well-rounded,
emotionally healthy, and moral Caribbean people.
“
An ideal Caribbean person values and displays
the creative imagination in its various manifestations
and nurtures its development in the economic and
entrepreneurial spheres and in all areas of life
.”
Right now in secondary school
or at The UWI, there may be a
Caribbean Einstein, or Marie
Curie (a gymnast in her younger
years before becoming a Nobel
Prize winning scientist), or even
an actress like Hollywood film
star Hedy Lamarr, an inventor
who developed technology used
in the US Navy.
Sabrina Vailloo is a writer and editor, and certified event coordinator. She is currently the head of branding at a local start-up.
