ReseaRch Quality assuRance foR the futuRe a ... - Lund University

Part 2 – Conclusions of the review
media and popular culture). What will be needed are thus not only
a good leadership and a lively internal community of scholars at the
department level, but also interdepartmental structures to support
cross-disciplinary research.
17. Among the most successful sections are area studies and similar
research in foreign cultures. They belong, together with History.
Human Ecology and Semiotics, to the excellent parts of the
History, Culture and Communication part of the Humanities.
Research in many of the subsections is very good and some is good.
18. There are a number of potential areas of development that are
not institutionalized as subjects, e.g. popular culture and media
studies. In some areas a higher degree of internationalization (of
subject matter as well as publication and collaboration) would be
desirable. It should be a priority for the faculty, as it is in the future
plans in a number of the research communities. A striking disparity
exists between the language section and the literature/film/area
studies section of LLC. There are about two times as many scholars
in languages compared to literature/film/area studies. There are
very few scholars in the fields of foreign literatures and cultures,
and there are none in German and Italian, just to stay within the
European context. In general it should be a strategic goal to expand
the representation of expertise in foreign cultures.
19. Although the quality of the majority of the research in the fields
under consideration here is very good or even excellent, the articulation
of plans for the future is in some cases (although not all cases,
as e.g. History demonstrates) disappointing. There is in several
fields a need to strengthen planning – also with a view to applications
for external funding. In many of the fields there has been a
serious decrease in such funds.
Philosophy
20. The Philosophical Institutes comprises three sections: Theoretical
Philosophy, Practical Philosophy and Cognitive Science. Impressive
research in cognitive science and practical philosophy has been
led by world-leading scholars. The recent addition of a Professor
of Theoretical Philosophy has created a very strong constellation
that allows fruitful cross-fertilization of research, and has enabled
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