The latest issue of Oxford Today features three different perspectives on the global humanities crisis. Philosopher Martha Nussbaum, in an interview with Richard Lofthouse entitled “Not for profit,” weighs in on the importance of the American liberal arts tradition. Nussbaum claims that this tradition’s combination of public and private funding, a robust tradition of academic […]
Voices For the Humanities
Steve Jobs on the Humanities
With the tragic passing of Steve Jobs, Apple’s visionary co-founder, the humanities have lost one of its most articulate advocates. Jobs often ended presentations standing in front of a slide displaying two street signs: “Liberal arts” and “Technology.” “We’ve always tried to be at the intersection of technology and liberal arts,” he would explain,” to be […]
Cathy N. Davidson on the Never-Ending Crisis in the Humanities
Cathy N. Davidson, Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University, has written a piece in the newest edition of Academe on the ongoing crisis in the humanities and what to do about it. Framed by the story of a chance encounter in the late 1970s with the dean of the College of Arts […]
When Performance is Power
By Oeendrila Lahiri, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 4Humanities International Correspondent Between May and August, India hosted one of the biggest media enabled political dramas in our fight against corruption. By the end of August political activism had spiralled into a crisis which made one wonder if the humanities should be seriously and compulsorily taught […]
Global Concerns, Local Politics
By Oeendrila Lahiri, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 4Humanities International Correspondent While spending time with my little cousin who is about to head off to the UK for his undergrad education, it seemed to me that some equations are being readjusted. As we send the kids to study abroad – this time with our own […]
A Different Kind of College and University Ranking
Washington Monthly has recently published its college and university rankings, and the result is much different from the more traditional kinds of rankings published by outlets like U.S. News & World Report. Conceived of as a counter to the U.S. News rankings, which emphasize admission rates and prestige, Washington Monthly‘s rankings focus on “how well […]
The Value of the Humanities: David Palumbo-Liu and Ian Bogost
Stanford Professor of Comparative Literature David Palumbo-Liu has recently written a piece on his blog entitled “Why the Humanities are Indispensable.” In this post, Palumbo-Liu discusses the “crisis” in the humanities and claims, “While people say the humanities are in crisis, I believe it is an institutional crisis: I don’t think there is a ‘crisis’ […]