ABSTRACT
The perception of the humanities researcher persists as sequestered in the library surrounded by books or in a near-silent archive gingerly pouring over manuscripts (Nyhan & Duke-Williams, 2014). The image is of an isolated scholar, disconnected from the public and from contemporary societal concerns. And while much important research in the humanities is carried out in an isolation that provides the necessary environment for insight and reflection, as the chapters in this volume demonstrate, research in the humanities is increasingly carried out collaboratively, within inter- and transdisciplinary settings, with the public as co-creators, and with the knowledge that it is important, if not imperative, that we bring a humanities perspective to current societal debates as well as influence their outcomes. Accordingly, what underpins the research in this volume, through a wide range of approaches, theories, and methods, is a focus on engagement.
