CNRS and UChicago launch a new initiative in the humanities
The HumanitiesPlus IRL held its first official event in March 2024, with a conference on the Aristotelian concept of “phronesis,” or practical wisdom, and the ways foundational Hellenic notions and texts may apply to present-day public discourse.
The UChicago-CNRS HumanitiesPlus International Research Laboratory (IRL) is a joint research center dedicated to the promotion of collaborative research between the University of Chicago and the CNRS in the humanities, with an opening towards the social sciences.
About
The UChicago-CNRS HumanitiesPlus International Research Laboratory (HumanitiesPlus IRL), created in January 2024, aims at establishing a hub of collaborative interactions and opportunities on the campus of the University between the academic community in France (the CNRS and French universities) and the UChicago humanities and social sciences divisions. It aims to promote transnational interdisciplinary research in philosophy, literature, linguistics, philology and the arts – with an opening towards the social sciences, especially on questions of democracy and the habitability of the planet. It is part of the large strategic partnership between the CNRS and the University of Chicago that was institutionalized by the creation of a new International Research Center (IRC Discovery).
The HumanitiesPlus IRL is based on a convergence of scientific approaches and orientations: research grounded in disciplines yet open to interdisciplinarity (and to the way in which this interdisciplinarity can recompose these disciplines); a comparable emphasis on studies connected to specific spaces and contexts (area studies), as well as on comparative and transnational approaches; and a shared desire to encourage research projects that shed light on and respond to major contemporary societal and political issues. The HumanitiesPlus IRL’s five main research clusters are the following:
- Truth, information, fiction;
- Decentering canons and broadening corpora: digital humanities, world literatures, area studies;
- Language emergence;
- Ethics and political theory: democracy studies, medical-environmental humanities;
- Textual and archaeological studies: history of writing, heritage preservation, ancient cultures
The HumanitiesPlus IRL will engage already established collaborations and programs such as the ARTFL project, the joint PhD grant program, and the existing International Research Network “Postcolonial Print Cultures,” in addition to facilitating new connections and collaborative projects.
The University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is an urban research university that has driven new ways of thinking since 1890. Our commitment to rigorous inquiry and intellectual freedom draws pathbreaking scholars to our global campuses, where field-defining ideas are born that challenge and change the world.
The CNRS
The Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) is a major player in basic research on the global stage. Its unique position as a specialist in multiple fields means that it can bring together different scientific disciplines to shed light on and gain insight into current global challenges, in partnership with public sector, social and economic stakeholders.
CNRS-UChicago International Research Center for Fundamental Scientific Discovery
IRC Discovery strengthens existing partnerships between scholars at two of the world’s leading research institutions and leverages both institutions’ robust networks and large-scale investments in scientific infrastructure to address some of the world’s greatest questions.
