College of Humanities Holds 2nd International Research Conference

The College of Humanities of the University of Ghana has held the second international research conference on the theme “Promoting Humanities Research for Development in Africa”.

Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey

Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey who chaired the ceremony noted that the theme for the conference and the discussions to follow throughout the 3-days would demonstrate clearly the positive impact of research. He mentioned in particular the determination of the University of Ghana to become a research-intensive University. This he said, would require the University of Ghana to generate and share knowledge by utilizing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) approaches to bring faster social development in the country. Prof. Aryeetey expressed his optimism that the 2nd research conference would ignite the passion of participants to undertake rigorous research comparable to what transpires in developed economies.

Prof. Emmanuel Akyeampong, Keynote Speaker and Professor of History and of African and African American Studies at the Harvard University

The Keynote address was delivered by Prof. Emmanuel Akyeampong, Professor of History and of African and African American Studies at the Harvard University, USA on the topic “The Social Science Research and Humanities in Africa: A Research Agenda for the 21st Century”. Prof. Emmanuel Akyeampong shared a connective thread to help forge a vision of engaging more with African Universities to examine ideas pertaining to the history and origins of the humanities, while focusing also on social research. He presented theoretical expositions of the 18th and 19th Centuries as the foundations for rigorous studies in the social sciences, and noted that it would be to their intellectual peril for African social theorists to not embrace those expositions.

He noted that the challenges facing Africa with regards to good governance, transmigration problems, literacy gap, and changing paradigms in education, could be tackled from the standpoint of drawing appreciable insight from social researchers and implementing their findings. He stressed the need to elevate techniques in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to create a more equitable socio-economic society.

Prof. Akyeampong called for strong partnerships with international institutions of higher learning and industry to help rejuvenate African Universities and governance institutions. He underscored the need for interdisciplinary studies on climate change, technology, the changing family, inequality and citizenship.

He also touched on the need to attune to critical social theory thinking, the need for university administrators to encourage faculty to undertake transnational studies to expand their units, and the need to change from an extraction economy to a learning economy to make sense of Africa’s realities.

Prof. Samuel Agyei-Mensah, Provost of the College of Humanities

Earlier in his welcome remarks, at the opening ceremony, the Provost of the College of Humanities, Prof. Samuel Agyei-Mensah, extended appreciation to participants for attending the conference. He noted that the conference would cover a wide range of interesting topics within the humanities and would as well feature a round table discussion on the proposed establishment of a Social Science and Humanities Research Consortium at the University. He recounted the experiences of many developed and emerging economies that have attached significance to investment in research and development, and called on African institutions to give a serious thought to investment in research and development.

Prof. Samuel Agyei-Mensah outlined some of the strides that the College of Humanities has made since its inception in 2014. He noted that the College has put in place administrative structures to ensure good governance, while introducing demand driven programmes as evidenced by new graduate programmes in Development Economics, Public Policy and Geo Information Science. He noted as well, that the forged partnerships and collaborations with universities and organizations in Africa and Europe, has augmented the College’s grant portfolio and resulted in increased research publications.

He lauded the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey and the University Management for the continued support to the College. He also expressed gratitude to the Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID) for sponsoring the conference and to the organizing committee for their support and hard work in coordinating the conference successful.

The College of Humanities presented awards to faculty members of the University of Ghana for their immense contribution and impactful research works. Present at the conference were officials of the University, students from the University of Ghana, conference delegates from Ghana and the diaspora, and the general public.

Participants at the 3-day conference deliberated on pertinent topics such as: Law and Governance, Macroeconomic Management and Growth, Approaches to Researching the Humanities, Language and Language Planning for Development, Environment and Ecologies, Education: Quality, Relevance and Access, Diversities: Gender, Sexualities and Disabilities, Urban Lives and Livelihoods, Labour, Employment and Industry, Entrepreneurship, Business and Technologies, amongst other stimulating topics.

 

Guests seated at the opening ceremony