Draft Posts for “Humanities, Plain & Simple” Initiative

Directed by Christine Henseler » Sample post

[Since these are only drafts for future posts, please feel free to start incomplete posts, add annotations, etc. For example, you could identify the core values, frames, language, or audience that underlie the post.] Please note that this post is publicly viewable. Suggested Format: “Post Title” (by Your Name) — your post.

1. “The Humanities and Tomorrow’s Discoveries” (.doc) (by Alan Liu)
2. “The Humanities and Primary Education” (.pdf) (by Anna Brusutti)
3. “Think Differently: Support the Humanities” (.jpg) (by Cole Cohen)
   • Cole’s comments: “I’ve been playing around with a satirical take on Apple’s ‘Think Different’ campaign. Attached is a mock ad that I put together with the slogan ‘Think Differently: Support the Humanities. I’ve been holding onto it because I’m not sure that it actually works, in part because I haven’t found very many creative commons photos of figures in the humanities in the same style as the Apple campaign ads and also because I don’t intend for it to imply that the humanities are at odds with the digital world. I’m hoping that referencing the Apple philosophy feels inclusive rather than exclusive but again I’m not sure that I’ve struck that balance, here.”
4. “From a Path of Study to a Way of Life: Humanities and Lifelong Learning” (.pdf) (by Jen Hammerschmidt)
   • Jen’s comments: “This is my pitch for what would ideally be a series of posts for Humanities Plain & Simple. I’ve framed the idea as ‘From a Path of Study to a Way of Life: Humanities and Lifelong Learning’ – it links to Alan’s suggestion of imagining the relevance of our work to children’s education, and to some of the ‘Humanities for Life’ ideas that have been floated in prior meetings. The point is to offer a direct application of some aspect of our work in Humanities to education outside the academy in a way that is accessible and straightforward.
5. “Quantifying the Arts & Humanities” (.doc) (by Lindsay Thomas)
6. “Humanities and Opportunity” (.docx) (by Linda Adler-Kassner)

Further Ideas:

1. Recruit statements from strategically placed people (e.g., non-humanists, scientists, businessmen, politicians, entertainers, K-12 teachers, administrators, students, parents, children)
2. Brainstorm the use of visual and multimedia means to present (or accompany) “plain & simple” statements. Compare:
   • Royal Society for the Arts videos–e.g., Rifkin, Jeremy. “The Empathic Civilisation.” RSA Animate. May 6, 2010.
   • ii. Emory College Why Study the Humanities in 60 Seconds videos. Example