DDL: January 31, 2021
Rewards: publication in magazine
HAS Magazine launches a call for contributions for its third issue to be published in May 2021
The goal of HAS Magazine is to discuss pressing topics through the
analysis of a wide range of themes in the humanities, the social
sciences, and the arts. Conceived as a magazine for the broadest
possible range of readers, HAS offers a space for staging the most
creative, enlightening, imaginative, and socially relevant interactions
of the humanities and the arts.
HAS Magazine is an initiative of the Humanities, Arts and Society
project with UNESCO-MOST, the International Council for Philosophy and
Human Sciences, Mémoire de l’Avenir and Global Chinese Arts &
Culture Society.
We welcome contributions from scholars, researchers, critics,
artists, and any interested parties who find the above aims important
and would like to be part of the project. HAS Magazine is not an
academic journal and texts should be written in a language accessible to
a broad, non-expert audience. HAS is not a commercial venture and is
available online for free in English, French and Chinese in order to
reach the broadest possible audience. Due to the non-profit nature of
the publication, contributions are on a voluntary basis.
The published contributions include essays, reviews, critiques,
interviews, artistic projects, video and photo reportages, and news. The
editorial committee is constituted by members of UNESCO-MOST, the
International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences and Mémoire de
l’Avenir.
Politically biased or discriminatory content will not be accepted. Promotional or commercial content should be avoided.
The theme of the third issue is Truth and Belief. We aim to
investigate this topic from a multi- and cross-disciplinary
perspective—including but not limited to the visual and performing arts,
philosophy, history, anthropology, archaeology, literature, sociology,
economics, political science, and humanities scholarship.
More information about the theme
In the 21st century, information is produced and shared at a record
pace, with unprecedented reach. Web 2.0—aka the Participative
Internet—is radically transforming our ways of consuming information.
This development is both positive and negative: On the one hand it
allows people to organize and crowdsource ideas more efficiently, but on
the other it is increasing the amount of false information being spread
without fact-checking. Conflict, discrimination, ideological blindness,
the denial of global warming and COVID-19, and beyond, are nurtured by
dis- and mis-information that is difficult to regulate. Although fake
news is not a new phenomenon, the broad information flow of today,
enabled by social media, has allowed it to flourish. From these
channels, a culture based on influence has emerged, in which
personalities can directly communicate with followers who trust them,
and affect their behaviour. As we are bombarded with information created
by influencers with different interests and intentions, how do we
distinguish between facts, opinions, and beliefs?
Critical thinking and understanding have become more important than
ever amidst this global information flow. The role and responsibility of
education—and actors such as artists, journalists, and scientists—has
always been to inform and to question. Their domains—the arts,
humanities, and sciences—are the principal drivers of critical thinking,
social investigation, and active learning. By questioning dogmas and
exploring new ways of living, they have the capacity to upend outdated
paradigms and help society in its transformative endeavour. They are
important in fighting denialism and confirmation bias, which favour
facts that are coherent with one’s already-held beliefs.These
disciplines encourage inclusive understanding, which helps us see that
our local actions have global impact.
In the third issue of HAS Magazine, we seek to explore the flow of information, knowledge, bias, and the notion of truth.
Investigations may cover fields and questions such as epistemology,
the social construction of reality, the Information Age, influence,
cognitive bias, cognitive dissonance, anti-intellectualism, scientific
ignorance, and denialism.
Artistically, this may include photography, illusionary art,
forgeries, fakes, art as information, and artistic investigations of
objectivity/subjectivity and the nature of truth and reality.
Questions may include (but are not limited to): How can we
distinguish between objective and subjective, or self-serving facts?
What is the place of truth in current society? How do truth, reason, and
belief relate to each other? What is the role of satire, and what is
its relation to truth/falsity? What is the role of art in relation to
truth, falsity, and bias? How can art and art education help develop
critical thinking? What is the place of scepticism in today’s society,
in the positive and negative sense? What are the advantages of
scepticism, and what are its limits? How can the various forms and
branches of art contribute to the investigation of the above issues?
We invite researchers, creative thinkers, and practising artists to
submit contributions examining any aspects of the above questions.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Contributors may submit texts in English or French. The language should
be accessible to a broad audience and non-experts of the subject.
Contributions can be up to 3000 words in length and include 3-8 images minimum 300 dpi
Contributions can also be presented in video (MP4) or audio formats (MP3).
Citations and references should use the Chicago-style.
Submissions accompanied by a short biography (100 words) and abstract
(100 words), should be sent to magazine@humanitiesartsandsociety.org.
For questions and more information: contact@humanitiesartsandsociety.org.
The deadline for submissions is 31 January, 2021 at midnight, Central European Time.
