A Welcome from the Directors
Each annual theme since the establishment of the IAS half a decade ago has tackled an issue fundamental to life. And each theme has generated a breadth of work that draws on established academic disciplines but also breaks down the barriers between them that may restrict the maximum fluidity of thought and research. This fluid thinking is central to the IAS’s mission to address problems that face our global society.
More than any other so far, the theme of Water demanded the interdisciplinarity that is at the heart of the IAS. Our lives, let alone our way of living those lives, could not exist without water. It has enormous power as a resource, and those who control access to it now and in the past wield and wielded enormous power too. We examined issues connected to the power of water and also investigated related ideas: the symbolic force of water; the risks and opportunities that water presents; and water’s religious and ritual significance. As well as exploring the practical applications of research and their potential to improve the way our lives are led now and in the near future, the IAS during this year has striven to open up new lines of enquiry. Even if these new approaches do not lead immediately to new discoveries, they are essential to the mission of the IAS.
The IAS is dedicated to imagining new lines of research, to enriching our grasp of and attitudes towards human knowledge, and to provoking new ways of thinking in the future. It is this commitment to new thinking that has obtained recognition for the IAS as one of the leading institutions of its kind.
This year, as in previous years, some of the world’s leading figures in their respective fields were attracted to the IAS by the prospect of working together and with Durham’s own prominent authorities on the Water theme. Their unique contributions, enthusiasm, amazing workrate and creativity during the year led to superb levels of output from the theme, which continue to emerge.
Invaluable support was offered throughout by our partners, Northumbrian Water. During the decades since privatisation, the company has developed a corporate responsibility strategy that defines how Northumbrian Water’s reputation is influenced by its interaction with communities as well as the business and natural environments; there is a reflection here of the IAS’s commitment to interdisciplinarity. Northumbrian Water contributed and engaged strongly with the IAS’s programme of events throughout 2009-10.
We invite you to dip into this report for more information about the IAS Water theme. Further details are also available via the IAS website:
www.durham.ac.uk/ias
A Welcome from the Directors
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60