New article: Inquiry-based learning in the Humanities: Moving from topics to problems using the ¡°Humanities imagination¡±

In this article, we present a new perspective on how to combine inquiry-based, problem-oriented learning with practices in the Humanities. Our particular interest is how the initial phase of finding ¡°the problem¡± can be undertaken in a conjoint way with students, that is in the form of inquiry-based learning where there are no pre-defined questions set by the teacher. Inspired by C. Wright Mills, we argue that ¡°the imagination¡± is key to opening up inquiries into problems, for students and researchers alike. Through an outline of what we call ¡°the Humanities imagination¡± we develop a set of heuristics for stimulating a turn from topics to problems in the context of the Humanities. We show how combining inquiry-based learning with the Humanities suggests both new pedagogical practices, new models (the teacher as interlocutor), and a new balancing of the ecology of the Humanities emphasizing its particular imaginary over its disciplines.

Find the article Inquiry-based learning in the Humanities: Moving from topics to problems using the ¡°Humanities imagination¡± in journal Arts and Humanities in Higher Education.