All posts by Alan Liu

“What Everyone Says About the Humanities” Research Project

Posted by Alan Liu

WhatEvery1Says

The 4Humanities WhatEvery1Says research project is collecting a corpus of public discourse about the humanities (in newspapers, magazines, blogs, reports intended for the public or legislatures, etc.) and analyzing that corpus with digital text-analysis methods.

Our hypothesis is that digital methods can help us learn new things about how media pundits, politicians, business leaders, administrators, scholars, students, artists, and others are actually thinking about the humanities. For example, are there sub-themes beneath the familiar dominant clichés and memes? Are there hidden connections or mismatches between the “frames” (premises, metaphors, and narratives) of those arguing for and against the humanities? How do different parts of the world or different kinds of speakers compare in the way they think about the humanities? Instead of concentrating on set debates and well-worn arguments, can we exploit new approaches or surprising commonalities to advocate for the humanities in the 21st century?”

We hope to use findings from the WhatEvery1Says project to provide advocates for the humanities with strategies and materials for effective communication of the value of humanistic study and knowledge–with narratives, arguments, scenarios, and evidence that advance, rather than simply react to, public conversation on the place of the humanities in today’s world.

The WhatEvery1Says project aims to produce the following (more . . . .):

4Humanities Backpack Mini-Documentary #1: “A Harry Potter Cross-Generational Discussion”

Posted by Alan Liu

4Humanities@CSUN, Backpack Mini-Documentaries

4Humanities today debuts the first of the videos produced by its Mini-Documentary Backpack Project (produced by the local chapter of 4Humanities at California State University, Northridge: 4Humanities@CSUN). Mini-doc #1 features the humanities in action in Professor Ranita Chatterjee’s classroom, where senior English majors hosted ten-year-old children as their guests. (Read more)

Backpack Mini-Documentaries

Posted by Alan Liu

Retired (Deprecated) Posts

Backpack Mini-Documentaries are short, 5-7 minute documentaries that promote humanities scholarship by giving a narrative voice to the research process. Each mini-doc covers an individual scholar’s or student’s work or depicts an event put on by a student organization or department affiliated with the humanities. Producing short, easy-to-watch films that are accessible to students and […]

Webinar: Alan Liu on “Advocating the Humanities: Values & Strategies for the Digital Age” (Feb. 11, 2013)

Posted by Alan Liu

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns

The Kean University Faculty Seminar on “The Global Crisis and Promise of Higher Education” (organized in partnership with 4Humanities) will run its next Webinar of the year on February 11, 2012, featuring Alan Liu on “Advocating the Humanities: Values & Strategies For the Digital Age.” The focus of his webinar will be on reframing humanities […]

Humanities in the Twenty-First Century: Innovation in Research and Practice (MLA 2013 Panel)

Posted by Alan Liu

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns, Scholarship on the State of the Humanities

For the 2013 Modern Language Association convention in Boston, 4Humanities co-leader Christine Henseler organized a panel titled “Humanities in the Twenty-First Century: Innovation in Research and Practice.” The panel, which occurred on January 4, 2013, featured the following papers: “The Promise of Humanities Practice,” Lynn Pasquerella (President, Mount Holyoke College). “Making the Humanities ‘Count,’” David […]