Challenges pertaining to Arab research and knowledge output, and their applications: The example of the humanities at Jordanian universities

Abstract

The study sheds light on the most prominent challenges that Arab scientific research and knowledge output, and their various applications, generally face, with particular emphasis on the humanities fields at Jordanian universities, whose situation is similar to the situation at many Arab universities. The focus on the humanities, which constitutes the first part of the research, stems from the fact that “scientific” research and knowledge output in the humanities have a specific particularity that distinguishes them somewhat from scientific research and knowledge output in the social and hard sciences. It also stems from the noticeable decline in the status quo and performance of the humanities in the past few decades. The inclusion of “knowledge output” and “its applications” in the discussion of scientific research is due to the fact that scientific and epistemic activity in the humanities and its various manifestations are as important as any research output in its narrow sense. The paper moves in the second part, after listing the obstacles pinpointed by the various studies, to shed light on a set of challenges and solutions that have not received adequate attention, based on the experience of researchers and a questionnaire prepared for this purpose. These include the dual role of teaching and research, the faculty member’s heavy academic load, the poor research environment, lack of ample commitment to academia, the issues resulting from linking research to the promotion, and other factors that make the context in which the faculty member functions both discouraging and unconducive to research.