Seamus Heaney who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 will receive an honorary degree at the Caird Hall in July 2003 alongside graduands from the faculty of arts and social sciences. In his most recent book Finders Keepers, Heaney reflects on his life as a teacher in St Thomas’s Secondary Intermediate School in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast, at Queen’s University and as the poet in residence at Harvard. He talks of knowing "both the heckling of the have-nots in St Thomas’s and the nods and gleams of the granny glasses in Harvard Hall" but he is clear that the "mystery" of poetry interested the young boys of Ballymurphy and that universities have an enduring responsibility to promote the "good of literature". He is a passionate advocate for the social and cultural mission of our schools and universities.
The recently published White Paper, The future of higher education, is strong on importance of science as a driver of innovation, growth and productivity but to be fair it also acknowledges that research in the social sciences and the arts and humanities "is of vital importance to our university system and its international standing", benefiting the economy and enriching our culture more widely. And it does recommend the creation of a UK wide Arts and Humanities Research Council to put the organisation and funding (I suspect this means the system not the amount!) for the arts and humanities on the same footing as funding for science and technology.
The twin aims of enhancing arts and humanities research and ensuring that there are no artificial barriers to interdisciplinary work between the arts and sciences is welcomed in Dundee where significant work is already being done. One good example of where we are already making the best of our potential for linking arts and science is led by Creative Scotland Award winner Gina Czarnecki who has been working closely with Dr Alan Prescott in life sciences on an installation "Silvers Alter" exploring the ethics and the possibilities of genetic manipulation. The resulting exhibition Clean Rooms will show at the Natural History Museum London later this year. In anticipation of the new fully fledged research council, we will continue to build stronger links between researchers in different disciplines and aim to secure more funding for the arts and humanities through national and international programmes. The recent reviews of the faculties of arts and social sciences and the Duncan of Jordanstone college of art and design are certainly pushing in this direction - our track record in areas like architectural history and the early success of new courses in interactive media design and innovative product design show what can be done by crossing traditional boundaries in new ways.
There is also an important opportunity in Dundee to pursue these aims in the context of the issues, attitudes and aspirations of a devolved Scotland. Alongside my copy of Finders Keepers sits another book Symbols of Survival, Duncan Macmillan’s extended and updated review (first published in 1992) of The Art of Will Maclean, Emeritus Professor of Visual Arts at the University of Dundee. The great Gaelic poet, the late Sorley MacLean contributed a foreword to the first edition of this book which refers to the art of a man who is consciously and unconsciously aware of the philosophy, literature and visual art that Scotland has encountered and produced from the Enlightenment and Scottish Renaissance to the present day. Perhaps this is a good place to start as we think through the next steps in developing the arts and humanities in Dundee in a way that draws on our existing strengths and the potential for collaboration with St Andrews, positioning us to provide new opportunities for staff and students. The time is right to mark out the distinctive contribution that the University can make in this important area.
The drawings are of the new atrium entrance which will link the Old Medical School and the Carnelly Building. It is currently being constructed and is due to be completed in April this year