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.

Nussbaum: Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities

Posted by Geoffrey Rockwell

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns

The philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum has published a short book titled, Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities.. Princeton University Press has made the first chapter available as a PDF where she sets out the crisis, Radical changes are occurring in what democratic societies teach the young, and these changes have not been well […]

Stanley Fish: “The Value of Higher Education Made Literal”

Posted by Alan Liu

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns

In The New York Times Opinionator Blog for December 13, 2010, Stanley Fish, the well-known professor of humanities and law and public commentator, criticizes the cuts to higher education in the U.K. They are being sold on the idea of giving more “choice” to students, he says, but—not trusting student choice—they insure that the forced […]

“What can undergraduates do with digital media at a liberal arts college?”

Posted by Alan Liu

Humanities Showcase, Student Voices

Students at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges met in November 2010 for a two-day symposium titled “Re:Humanities”, billed as “of, by, and for undergraduates, featuring innovative digital research.” As Evan McGonagill (Bryn Mawr, 2010) said in introductory remarks, the conference was an attempt to show how the digital humanities could be deliberately applied to undergraduate […]

Humanities in Action Lab

Posted by Alan Liu

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns

Christine Henseler, a professor of Spanish and Hispanic Studies at Union College in Schenectady, NY, who also has a background in advertising and book marketing, has started a project called The Humanities in Action Lab: The Lab focuses on reaching beyond and across disciplines to uncover and raise consciousness of how the Humanities are influencing, […]

Arts Against Cuts

Posted by Alan Liu

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns

Arts Against Cuts is an initiative in the U.K. to battle the budget cuts threatening the arts This blog is an umbrella space for students, artists and cultural workers to display and align their ideas and actions against the cuts. We are fighting back against the most significant governmental attack on the public sector in […]