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.

Stanley Fish on “The Triumph of the Humanities”

Writing in his column for The New York Times about a new field called GeoHumanities—and, in particular, a project in “mapping time” by the historian and university president Edward L. Ayers—Stanley Fish concludes: What this all suggests is that while we have been anguishing over the fate of the humanities, the humanities have been busily […]

Weaving an Inescapable NET

By Oeendrila Lahiri, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 4Humanities International Correspondent It’s that time of the year again. Postgraduates and doctoral scholars of the country are once again all het up over the National Entrance Test (NET), which tests one’s teaching aptitude. The National Entrance Test is a centralised qualifying exam designed to ‘determine eligibility […]

Margaret Conrad on “Rescuing the Humanities One Website at a Time”

Margaret Conrad was awarded the 2011 SDH/SEMI Outstanding Achievement, Computing in the Arts and Humanities prize. Award winners are asked to give an address to the Society meeting and she spoke about “Rescuing the Humanities One Website at a Time” (PDF of full talk.) Her moving talk wove personal history together with a general discussion […]

Liberal Arts Needed in Business Schools, New Report Argues

A new report by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching argues universities should integrate components of a liberal arts education into their business school curriculum. The report, entitled Rethinking Undergraduate Business Education: Liberal Learning for the Profession, emphasizes that business students are not as prepared as they could be for careers in the […]

Humanities Research and National Defense

A panel of humanities researchers and supporters argued humanities research plays a direct role in national defense at a congressional briefing on Thursday. As reported in Inside Higher Ed, the briefing, which was sponsored by the National Humanities Alliance and the Association of American Universities, explained how research projects funded by the National Endowment for […]