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.

Quantifying Digital Humanities

Posted by LindsayThomas

Humanities News, Humanities Showcase

Melissa Terras, Deputy Director of the UCL Centre for the Digital Humanities and 4Humanities coordinator, has gathered some statistics about the digital humanities and turned them into an infographic, which can be found at the UCLDH Flickr account and blog. The infographic shows the present extent of the Digital Humanities, measured according to a variety […]

Choose Humanities

Posted by LindsayThomas

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns, Humanities News

Britain’s New College of the Humanities has recently published research showing that 60% of the UK’s leaders have humanities, arts, or social science degrees, according to the Guardian. The study, entitled Choose Humanities, reviewed leaders across a broad range of fields in the UK, including FTSE 100 CEOs, MPs, vice chancellors of Russell Group universities, […]

New Approach to Defending the Value of the Humanities

Posted by LindsayThomas

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns, Humanities News, The Changing Humanities

In a recent piece in Inside Higher Ed, professors Paul Jay and Gerald Graff review some of the most recent contributions to the conventional wisdom on the current crisis in the humanities, outlining the divide between “traditionalists” and “revisionists,” both of which argue that “the humanities should resist our culture’s increasing fixation on a practical, […]

The Curatorial Role: Humanities in Action

Posted by LindsayThomas

International Correspondents

By Eva Kekou, 4Humanities International Correspondent In today’s conservative fiscal climate, the role of a curator in cultural institutions has become even more complex. A curator’s role is more institutionalized than an artist – who reflects his or her own ideas and expressions – and thus it can be seen to reflect important cultural attitudes […]

Danish Business Academy’s Report on the Social Sciences and the Humanities

Posted by LindsayThomas

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns, Humanities News

In September of this year, the Danish Business Academy (DEA) wrote a position paper on improving the integration of the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) in the European Commission’s future framework for research and innovation (Horizon 2020). This framework emphasizes the Grand Societal Challenges – which include global warming, energy, an aging population, and public […]

Open Letter on Socio-economic sciences and the humanities

Posted by Geoffrey Rockwell

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns, Homepage, The Changing Humanities

NET4SOCIETY and other organizations have drafted an Open Letter on the Socio-economic sciences and the humanities. The letter to the European Commissioner for Research and Innovation calls for inclusion of the social sciences and humanities in large-scale research programmes (which is presumably not the case now.) They argue, While for many questions, natural, human and […]