Mern Þonke

Just another note relevant to my previous discussion of the status of liberal education. We may also have to consider the status of traditionally arts and humanities subjects, and opposed to those of the sciences that contribute to the liberal curriculum. Once upon a time, these subjects were considered to be of like kind, but their separation into different colleges has long marked the existence of an intellectual divide. Interdisciplinary work promises to help address this divide, but it remains to be seen what the result will be. In this context, I want to bring to readers’ attention the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), which seeks to establish collaborative research projects by faculty from universities around the world. Currently, medieval studies is the only field embracing traditional humanities subjects sponsored by the WUN. This is an important recognition of the prominence of medievalists in the forefront of contemporary interdisciplinary work, and, of course, pleases me enormously. But it also indicates how far we need to go put the humanities on an even playing field.

I also wish to point out that the WUN project is currently limited to a selection of participating research-oriented universities. This leaves scholars at non-research universities who could benefit by participation in collaborative projects, and could benefit the projects through their collaboration, out of the loop. A lot of good talent is being wasted, and organisations like this have the potential, if they can see it, to combat the increasing trend for well-trained scholars to sink into obscurity under the pressures of heavy teaching loads and diminishing commitments to research at many universities.