NEWS

AHRC and NEH agree collaboration

23 October 2008

colewestwelchThe National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) of the United States and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) of the United Kingdom have signed a memorandum of understanding to foster scholarly collaboration and research in the humanities. On October 23rd in Washington, NEH Chairman, Dr. Bruce Cole, and AHRC Director of Research, Professor Shearer West, signed the memorandum of understanding, inaugurating the first of two academic conferences. October's conference, "Picturing the Nation", featured presentations from scholars from the United States and the United Kingdom on how art can illuminate a nation's history. A second conference will take place in the United Kingdom in 2009, in collaboration with the AHRC's strategic programme "Beyond Text".

NEH and AHRC will encourage efforts to foster the development of innovative digital resources, research in the humanities, and collegial interaction between scholars, librarians, curators and other museum professionals for continued academic work on humanities subjects. Papers from each of the conferences are to be published online.

Visit the NEH website for more information on Picturing the Nation.

See full press release here.

Arts & Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £100 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from archaeology and English literature to design and dance. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,000 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. Arts and humanities researchers constitute nearly a quarter of all research-active staff in the higher education sector. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK. See Arts & Humanities Research Council website.