The CIPSH CHAIR ON DIGITAL HUMANITIES IN EDUCATION is managed by the Centre for English, Translation and Anglo-Portuguese Studies (CETAPS), a research unit at the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences (NOVA FCSH), of the NOVA University of Lisbon, and The Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto. The Open University of Portugal is also a leading partner of the Chair.
Opening Session of CIPSH Chair on Digital Humanities in Education, NOVA FCSH, Lisbon, Portugal (20-10-2020)
The Chair results from a partnership with the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto and the Open University, involving researchers and projects from various countries, non-academic institutions such as the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC, Chiado), FCCN and the Portuguese Institute Sport and Youth. It is also supported by the Ministry of Education of Portugal. The Chair’s funding base resides in two digital projects funded by FCT: Digital Humanities Laboratory: https://dhlab.fcsh.unl.pt), led by Professor Daniel Alves from the NOVA FCSH Institute of Contemporary History and CETAPS Digital Laboratory : https://www.cetaps.com/digitallab, led by Professor Fátima Vieira, deputy director of CETAPS and vice-chancellor of the University of Porto. At Universidade Aberta, the work developed from UAb LE@D laboratory will also be important. Many other digital projects existing in the three partner institutions will work in an interdisciplinary way to promote their application to educational contexts at all levels. Institutional partners from several countries will also be instrumental in expanding the Chair in the specific field of digital humanities.
According to the Agreement with CIPSH, “The Chair will focus on widening and improving the access of the digital content and digital technologies in education (all levels) while promoting dialogue, interaction, joint meaning-making and upholding ethical values for the common public good. It will also focus on expanding the already existing network of international partners.” (article 2).
The COVID-19 pandemic and the generalised use of digital resources has emphasised the importance of virtual communication across national and social borders. At a time described as ‘posthuman’, an information-intensive age, our globalized societies face increasing challenges, and the Humanities have a renewed role to play, addressing discourses that feed on fear, misinformation, knowledge manipulation, fake news, and science denial. To critically rethink the (cognitive) humanities and their educational value, universities should overcome disciplinary boundaries and connect with the civil society by bridging theory and action and exploring the potential of digital literacy and digital resources. Moreover, the critical importance of teachers for global citizenship and sustainable development demands pre-service and in-service teacher education that reaches geographical areas typically non- or underrepresented in research studies supported in a vision of education as a catalyst for change for an interconnected, inclusive, equitable, intercultural, and sustainable world.
The critical importance of teachers for global citizenship and sustainable development justifies an investment in supportive pre-service and in-service teacher education that reaches geographical areas typically non- or underrepresented in research studies. This Chair proposes a renewed civic expression of the Humanities aiming at improving the social and global well-being of our communities along with improvement of teacher education programmes. The Humanities help construct an interpretive stance, contribute to the development of criticality, interculturality, creativity, and competences for democratic cultures. By exploring the synergies of a wide international network and partnerships among institutions of higher education and private sector organizations or businesses, this Chair will involve different geographies (North-South and South-South) and languages (Portuguese, English as major – though not exclusive – working languages) in dialogue, through collaboration to bridge academia and civil society within the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
At NOVA FCSH, the head office of the Chair, and at partner institutions, we aim to connect tools, investigation, projects, courses, studies, and agents exploring the potential of digital resources within an interdisciplinary framework to promote teacher education, international educational networks and research projects valuing digital education as a means to address current global challenges and sustainable development.