Current Funding Opportunities
- Research Networking
- Fellowships
- Exploratory Awards
Please see below for details.
Theme overview
The ‘Science in Culture’ theme aims to develop the reciprocal relationship between the sciences on the one hand, and arts and humanities on the other. The sciences and the arts and humanities often seek to answer very different kinds of questions about human nature, the nature of the world we inhabit, and the relationship between the two. Sometimes, however, the questions we seek to answer do not neatly fall within the remit of one or the other.
Arts and humanities research goes beyond investigating the cultural contexts for science to inform and contribute to its advancement. Situated in a radically different research paradigm, the arts and humanities bring knowledge not available to science, offering exciting possibilities for new scientific discoveries and critical confluences of ideas and practices. It can promote a broader understanding of societal views about science, the role of scientific advances in our cultural life and how this shapes our broader world views. Arts and humanities research in the 21st century will inform science as much as it charts its cultural impacts. It will provoke new scientific enquiry as much as account for the historical, cultural, legal and ethical contexts for the future development of many areas of science. It can help to anticipate and inform future public and policy debates and controversies. There is growing recognition of the interconnections and complementarity between the sciences and the arts and humanities, the potential for creativity and innovation that these connections can generate and the limits of using scientific approaches in isolation to tackle societal challenges.
The public understanding of, and engagement with, science – in the sense of our ability to integrate the findings of the sciences within our overall worldview – is one in which the arts and humanities play an essential role. Arts and humanities research can help us answer questions such as:
• What are the nature, value and limits of scientific research?
• What roles do imagination, argumentation, creativity, discovery and curiosity play in scientific enquiry?
• How might we engage with the sciences as systems of knowledge from the perspective of their cultural context, development and impact?
• How might such engagement enhance public understanding and educational approaches, and inform policy debate about science?
There is significant potential for collaborative research pathways between the sciences and the arts and humanities. For example, a sophisticated understanding of cultural values, rights, religions and systems of belief is essential for addressing the complex legal, ethical and regulatory policy issues raised by some emerging areas of science and technology. And there is significant potential for research on the representation of scientific ideas and progress (for example in language, literature, visual media and the performing arts) and on the role of narrative, imagery, artefacts and cultural institutions (including museums and galleries) to inform ways of enhancing public engagement with science and technology. Beyond this, the arts and humanities can generate new knowledges about human life and interaction which may inform and directly contribute to scientific discovery and advancement. The Science in Culture theme aims to encourage mutual exchanges between the sciences and the arts and humanities that offer scope for developing new meta-methodologies, research frameworks and styles of thinking across the disciplines.
Theme development
Our central focus is on innovative and cutting-edge inter-relationships between the sciences and the arts and humanities. Innovative research might include:
• the application of arts and humanities in advancing scientific discovery;
• what science and humanities have learnt, and might learn, from each other;
• the development of new epistemologies for collaborative enquiry between the sciences, arts and humanities;
• the comparative roles of experts and expertise in the sciences, arts and humanities;
• the making of authority, integrity and trust in scientific and interpretivist research;
• rights, openness and ownership in collaborative research across the sciences, arts and humanities;
• the relationships between scientific, religious and other world views.
Another major area for potential research is how developments in science are influencing, and are being influenced by, cultural change. For example, how are advances in genetics, neuroscience and artificial intelligence affecting, and being affected by, our conceptions of what it is to be human? How have arts and humanities perspectives on, and representations of, science, through for example science fiction, film, exhibitions, media coverage, histories of science and technology, and legal, theological and philosophical debates, led to further scientific developments, shaped public views or helped to inform, educate and engage society on key issues or debates? How have the natural sciences affected our perceptions of nature and the ‘natural world’, and influenced our beliefs about human relationships, roles and responsibilities with respect to the environment? Conversely, how has culture shaped the mission and development of science? There are many senses and versions of culture, and through the Science in Culture theme, we can explore and help to understand notions of culture.
By building on existing strengths in areas such as the history and philosophy of science, innovative collaborations between scientists and artists and emerging cross-disciplinary fields such as medical or health humanities, we will be able to open up new and exciting opportunities for collaboration and learning between the arts and humanities and the sciences. In addition to working across the Research Councils and with the TSB, academies, learned societies, other funders, science educators, museums, regulators and policy-makers, there will be collaborative opportunities with research-led businesses and high technology companies. There are opportunities for research under this theme to contribute to inter-disciplinary collaboration across all of the RCUK’s research challenges, including ’Lifelong Health and Well-being’ and ‘Living with Environmental Change’, as well as in ‘breakthrough’ research areas.
An Advisory Group has been established to assist with the further development of this theme. A full list of members can be found below.
Science in Culture Advisory Group (pdf 45kb)
Current funding opportunities
Exploratory Awards call
As part of the development of the Science in Culture theme, the AHRC wishes to commission a number of small awards. Proposals are sought for exploratory awards that aim to hold a workshop or series of workshops or similar events, or to carry out a scoping study or a research review. Funding of up to £30,000 is available on a full economic costs basis. Awards should last for a maximum of 6 months and will be expected to start in February 2012.
The deadline for proposals is 4pm on Tuesday 22 November 2011.
Call document (pdf 123kb)
Research Networking and Fellowships
The AHRC’s Research Networking and Fellowships schemes currently have highlight notices for Science in Culture. The highlight notice for the fellowships scheme has been extended until October 2011. The highlight notice for the networking scheme has been extended until the end of July 2012. Proposals should have arts and humanities research at their core, although collaboration with disciplines or organisations outside the arts and humanities will be welcomed where appropriate.
Whilst the criteria for the Research Networking scheme remains the same, the highlight notice builds on the flexibility of the Fellowships scheme to encourage collaboration. We are specifically seeking to encourage proposals which involve arts and humanities researchers spending time conducting research collaboratively with scientists. Researchers could, for example, spend time embedded in or with a team of scientists and/or provide new arts and humanities perspectives to an existing project funded as a part of one of the RCUK cross-Council research programmes or by another Research Council. Research proposals involving an element of research-based creative interpretation or critical reflection of science, based on the collaboration, will also be welcomed.
Further information is available on the highlight notices page.
Supplementary notes on highlight, May 2011
As a part of the research networking and fellowships scheme highlight notices we would encourage applicants to consider opportunities for developing international collaborations relevant to this theme. For example, a recent workshop, organised jointly by the AHRC and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), on ‘Culture, Health and Well-being’ identified a rich agenda for cross-disciplinary and cross-national dialogue and exchange in the field of medical/ health/ healing/ well-being humanities. Discussions with other partners have identified the potential to extend this cross-national exchange to other countries beyond the UK & US.