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.

Brienza and Priego: The Impact of the Budget Cuts in the United Kingdom on Postgraduate Education

Posted by Alan Liu

Student Voices

Casey Brienza, Ph.D. candidate in the Sociology at the University of Cambridge, and Ernesto Priego, Ph.D. candidate in Information Studies at University College London, assess the impact of the planned higher-education budget cuts in the U.K. on students seeking Ph.D. and other postgraduate degrees Yet lost in this debate is much in the way of […]

Ernesto Priego: “These must be truly apocalyptic times if there is a need to explain why the humanities matter”

Posted by Alan Liu

Student Voices

These must be truly apocalyptic times if there is a need to explain why the humanities matter. Theodor Adorno’s famous phrase, “no poetry after Auschwitz”, comes to mind, as well as Walter Benjamin’s idea that there was no document of culture that was not as well a document of barbarism. Adorno was a humanist reflecting […]

Rising Tuition

Posted by Geoffrey Rockwell

Humanities News

Rising Tuition costs are one of the issues facing youth and parents as they choose universities. The CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) has an article titled Tuition fees on the rise … again which covers the Canadian scene. Associated with the article is an interactive panel Canada’s climbing tuition fees. The article, which is based on […]

Cathy Davidson: “Information Age Without the Humanities = Industrial Revolution Without Steam Engine”

Posted by Alan Liu

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns

The following is a statement posted on January 24, 2010, by Cathy N. Davidson, co-founder of HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory), on her HASTAC blog. [Excerpt]: The World Wide Web is the steam engine of the Information Age.  And without the humanities, virtually everything about the World Wide Web is a muddle.  […]

James Rovira: An Instructor’s Ground-Level Defense of the Humanities to Students

Posted by Alan Liu

Advocacy Statements & Campaigns

James Rovira is an Assistant Professor of English at Tiffin University in Ohio. The following is a slightly revised version of a post he made to the Humanist list on October 29, 2010. [Excerpt] I currently teach in a university in which 90% of its students are either Business or Criminal Justice majors. I don’t […]