« A Humanities, Plain & Simple Post » When I first arrived in Xiaogan, a former farming village in the center of China that now has a skyscraper being built on every block, to be an English teacher at the local university, I met my two fellow wandering foreigners – a French teacher and another […]
4Humanities@UCSB Meetings
4Humanities@UCSB meets about three times a quarter during Fall, Winter, and Spring. Each meeting is led by a facilitator who sets the agenda, moderates discussion, or facilitates production activities. For upcoming and past meetings, including resources and notes, see below. Some resources are private to the group or available only to members of the UCSB […]
Anthony Garcia, “5 Overlooked Reasons the Humanities Help Us All”
« A Humanities, Plain & Simple Post » Every student of the Humanities has had to defend their studies at some point. Compared to other majors such as engineering or chemistry, the humanities do not seem to be nearly as applicable for future jobs. Humanities programs are not considered a technical science and it is […]
Whither the Humanities? Three articles on the humanities today
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 […]
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 […]