研究故事

Humanitarianism has been used to describe everything from the invasion of Iraq in 2003 to relief work after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to teaching English to Myanmese refugees. What, then, is ‘humanitarianism’?

Humanitarian projects are carried out all over the world. But in the process of doing good, how often do practitioners reflect on the ambiguities that characterise humanitarian work or consider the ethical consequences of interventions? Universities are the obvious place for such reflection, but few have taken up the mantle. HKU is a notable exception.

The Centre for the Humanities and Medicine is the first institution of its kind in Asia to promote a critical humanitarian focus. It holds an annual conference, supports research and knowledge exchange projects, publishes books, and holds public events on contemporary and historical humanitarian practices.

“Members of the HKU community are involved in many different humanitarian projects in China and around the world. What we have lacked, however, is a reflective capacity,” says the Centre’s Co-Director and one of its Founders, Dr Robert Peckham. “Through the Centre, we make space for those involved in humanitarian work to think about the social and ethical issues they face. We also learn from them, creating a loop between research and experience, the University and the wider community.”

Moral sentiment

One of the world’s leading thinkers on humanitarianism, Professor Didier Fassin, has been advising on the programme. Professor Fassin is an anthropologist, sociologist and trained physician currently based at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, where he is James D Wolfensohn Professor in the School of Social Science. As Visiting Research Professor at HKU, he has helped to provide an intellectual framework for considering humanitarian issues.

Professor Fassin notes that while humanitarianism is seen as universally good and associated with everything from relief aid to military invasion, there is a need for a more neutral definition to encourage critical thinking. “Humanitarianism may be defined as the introduction of moral sentiments into politics. This allows one to go beyond the actors who define themselves as humanitarian,” he says.

Humanitarianism began largely as a Western, imperialist phenomenon in the 19th century and has essentially remained a story “of going into the world and doing good”. But that has come with a trade-off.

"A key to the success of humanitarianism is that it is morally satisfying because you address urgent questions in relation to those most in need and you see an immediate result. But… you may be less inclined to do social justice work."

Professor Didier Fassin

Left: Beyond the Pivot at work in Sichuan

Right: Dr Peckham (fourth from the left) and Professor Fassin (fifth from the left) met students in the seminar 'When Young Passion Meets Reality'.

The full version of this article was originally published in Bulletin. Please click here to view this HKU publication.