Capacities, capabilities, and the societal impact of the humanities

Eiríkur Smári Sigurðarson*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article explores new theoretical directions for understanding societal impact of the humanities and in a wider context. Arguing from the position that current evaluation policies and practises are in many cases ill-suited to research in the humanities, with risk of goal displacement, it takes up the debate about what the proper goals of research in the humanities are. Asking: If we risk goal displacement, what are the proper goals researchers are being led away from? Using Miranda Fricker's theory of epistemic justice and Amartya Sen's capability approach, it argues for the need for a 'capability theory' for social capacities to understand societal impact. On the basis of this, a better understanding of the societal impact of research in the humanities can be developed, as well as new ways of assessing (ex ante and ex post) the societal impact of research projects and programmes in the humanities.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)71-76
Number of pages6
JournalResearch Evaluation
Volume29
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved

Other keywords

  • Capabilities
  • Epistemic justice
  • Humanities
  • Social capacities
  • Societal impact

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