The future of the humanities and the role of the humanities in society were discussed during the conference entitled The New Humanities: Relevance and Renewal in Today’s Society, organised by the University of Malta’s Faculty of Arts for all the academic members of its 16 departments.

This event highlighted some of the more pressing issues with regard to student engagement in Humanities subjects as well as concerns over employability, skills and competences developed through studying in the humanities. The conference aimed to kick-start a process to formulate a vision of how the humanities might evolve in a manner that ensures their ongoing relevance.

The organising committee, chaired by Dr Maria Attard, developed a programme containing both plenary sessions and workshops. Plenary sessions provided the background to the more pressing question of how and why the humanities matter, with a number of academics providing short statements, while the keynote speaker Prof. Thomas Docherty, Professor of English and of Comparative Literature, University of Warwick, provided some stimulating perspectives on the future of the humanities.

Alumni of the faculty were also invited to give their views on how the humanities have helped them in their work and personal life. Feature presentations were made about the recently commissioned tracer study (Dr Manwel Debono), employability within EU institutions (Dr Emanuel Buttigieg) and subject skills and competences (Dr Maria Attard).

Four parallel workshops were held in the afternoon to draw up an action plan the faculty would need to put into effect in the short- and medium-term in order to increase its visibility and highlight its contribution to society. These workshops dealt with the Definition and Relevance of the Humanities, the Humanities and Technology, Re-branding, Marketing and Perceptions and the Humanities and Employability.

Prof. Dominic Fenech, dean of the Faculty of Arts stated that the faculty needed to develop new ways of attracting investment in the Humanities, while reaching out to employers to show them that humanities’ graduates have those qualities, which they look for in their employees.

Prof. Juanito Camilleri, University rector, stated that the conference was an opportunity for the faculty to identify its strengths and limitations and to define its way ahead. The Faculty, he said, had a central role in society, mostly because of its utility in understanding the human condition.