Creativity and sustainability, identity and interdisciplinarity, cross-fertilisation and the glocalisation of knowledge, memory and the future of the human “sciences”: these are some of the key concepts on which the new Department of Humanities Research and Innovation of the University of Bari Aldo Moro intends to build its foundations. It is a matter of “rethinking the human” from the perspective of innovation: innovation that is not only technological, but also and above all cultural, involving mindsets and perspectives, capable of generating new educational and research pathways that can influence social, economic and political processes.
Today, the humanities are called upon to take an active role and engage with new fields of knowledge and the major challenges of the contemporary world, concerning, to cite just a few examples, areas such as the community economy, widespread social interaction, digital creativity and circular interculturality. First and foremost, the humanities are called upon to make their essential critical contribution regarding the history and traditions of knowledge, the application of knowledge to increasing awareness of the human condition, and the continual exploration of the horizons of meaning of knowledge. This renewed search for meaning entails a serious and profound rethinking of every area of the humanities—literature, history, linguistics, art, archaeology and philosophy—and can benefit from the fruitful integration of other scientific and disciplinary fields: from social and political sciences to legal and economic sciences, from computer science, physics and mathematics to environmental, health and well-being sciences. Such a perspective, moreover, proves possible and fruitful not in opposition to, but in a strong relationship with, the continuous development of disciplinary specialisations, monographic research practices and the humanistic traditions that have brought international recognition and distinction to our University over past decades.
Ours is a large community comprising more than 200 people—including technical and administrative staff and academic staff—who work tirelessly for our students and for a new idea of the university community.
