Voices For the Humanities

4Humanities is a platform for people from different parts of society and the world to give voice to the enduring and contemporary importance of the humanities. Why study and creative expression in such areas as literature, history, languages, philosophy, classics, art history, cultural studies, and others (see “What Are the Humanities?”) so valuable to individuals and societies? The voices gathered here say why.

* 4Humanities seeks out both original and reposted statements about the humanities from people in business, the sciences, entertainment, universities, high schools, and other sectors. We also report on significant developments and initiatives related to the humanities.

* Listen to the voices in our sections on “Advocacy Statements & Campaigns,” “The Changing Humanities,” “Student Voices,” and “International Correspondents.”

* Also listen to the voices gathered in our special projects “Humanities, Plain & Simple” and “Backpack Mini-documentaries.”

For those wishing to consult resources in framing their own statement for the humanities, 4Humanities offers a “Guide to Issues in Humanities Advocacy” and its “The Humanities Matter!” infographic.

Updated “The Humanities Matter!” Infographic is Out!

Posted by Alan Liu

August 24, 2023Advocacy Statements & Campaigns, Homepage, Humanities InfographicsAlan Liu

4Humanities’s The Humanities Matter! infographic — with arguments and statistics for why the humanities matter — has been updated! It can be downloaded as a large, vertical PDF file or image file (or as production files to facilitate adapting it under its open license).

Christine Henseler, “Stop Repeating Age-old Stigmas: Careers in the Arts and Humanities are Plentiful and They Pay”

Posted by Alan Liu

January 13, 2023Advocacy Statements & Campaigns, Voices For the HumanitiesAlan Liu

By: Christine Henseler It baffles me to hear parents tell their kids that art is a hobby, not a career; that you can’t make good money with a degree in English. Wasn’t it just yesterday evening that these same adults binged for hours on the entire season of Grey’s Anatomy? For the second time? It so […]

Arts and Humanities — What Are They? (Students Asking Students)

Posted by Alan Liu

November 30, 2022Student Voices, Voices For the HumanitiesAlan Liu

In fall 2022, students in Professor Christine Henseler’s sophomore research seminar at Union College on “Arts and Humanities: Don’t Leave College Without Them” created for their final project a Shout Out for the Humanities campaign in the shape of essays, infographics, or other public-facing narratives. One creative group of students (branding themselves STC Productions) produced […]

New Guidebook on How Humanities & Arts Lead to Professions and Careers

Posted by Alan Liu

January 20, 2022Advocacy Statements & Campaigns, HomepageAlan Liu

[Now also in paperback] A new, open-access guide book has been published online by 4Humanities.org’s co-leader, Christine Henseler. Called Arts and Humanities: Don’t Leave College Without Them! (2022), the work takes the form of a “flipbook” giving a broad overview and specific examples of the humanities and arts, and the kinds of careers they lead […]

The Entrepreneurial Humanities
(Call for Essays)

Posted by Alan Liu

February 24, 2021Advocacy Statements & CampaignsAlan Liu

Edited by Alain-Philippe Durand and Christine Henseler Call for Essays When the general public hears the word “entrepreneurship” and reads articles and magazines that sell us on the “100 Most Entrepreneurial People in __________ (fill in the blank),” they usually think of new business models and products in technology and the sciences. “Entrepreneurship” is rarely […]

Creativity and Human-Centered Teaching is the Wave of the Future — An Interview with Christine Henseler

Posted by Alan Liu

January 5, 2020Uncategorized, Voices For the HumanitiesAlan Liu

By Megan Brown In a world that is seemingly angled towards math and science in education, Professor Christine Henseler of Union College is making strides to rebalance that trend. Professor of Spanish and Hispanic Studies, and a teacher of courses in English on Social Change and the Arts and Humanities, Henseler is using her ingrained […]

The Millennial Wave and the Changing Nature of Work

Posted by Alan Liu

August 29, 2019Uncategorized, Voices For the HumanitiesAlan Liu

By Susan Frost and Christine Henseler. It was the onset of a business revolution. Information management professionals were in high demand. Data became increasingly vital to a new-age economy. Sounds like today, right? Well, it might surprise you to learn that we’re talking about the mid-nineteenth century. In 1853, the modern office, as we know […]