Humanomics - Mapping the dynamic of the humanities 2.8

HUMANOMICS is a research programme in Denmark funded by the Velux Foundation (Grant no: 437810) from 2012-2015.

The aims of the programme are:
(a) to map the content and context of the humanities over the last fifteen years, and
(b) to identify theoretical and methodological resources for developing an empirically-based philosophy of the humanities.

By looking at the structure and dynamics of the humanities at universities and other research institutions (e.g., museums, archives, cultural institutions), the program seeks to provide empirical insight into which humanist theories, methods, concepts, etc. that are operative in today’s science system.

The investigation of contemporary and historical knowledge production in the different disciplines of the humanities falls within three main areas: history of science, philosophy of science, and sociology of science.
Indeed, by tracing the historical origins of the humanities, and by examining their conceptual roots as well as their social organisation, new diagrams and cognitive topographies can be unveiled that give important insights into the disciplinary and interdisciplinary structure of science, how it changes, and which disciplines that tend to flourish or disappear.

A particular aim of the research program is to understand the humanities as situated between disciplinary science and other modes of research.

Mapping the humanities involves an investigation of the relationship and flow between research in the humanities, and between the humanities and the social and natural sciences.

Research topics include the search for multidisciplinary publication patterns, key-word analysis, new and emerging sub-fields, co-investigator links, etc. The program is meant to inspire cross-disciplinary debate on how to track scientific activity and progress across the disciplines.