Interesting

A Crisis in the Humanities: The norms governing scholarship now often serve to protect a rigid orthodoxy on certain politically charged issues—with ideological tests substituted for proper academic standards

We begin from what ought to be a platitude: The humanities and the social sciences are academic disciplines aimed at understanding the human world and the larger reality of which it is a part. There is room for debate about what it means to “understand” a historical episode, or a literary text, or a social phenomenon. But it should not be controversial that, like all academic research, scholarship in these disciplines is in the business of asking questions; that these questions have answers (when they are well-posed); that these answers are not simply evident and can therefore only be arrived at indirectly, by appeal to evidence and argument; and that it is the role of academic disciplines to cultivate methods for collecting the evidence relevant to their questions and for assessing scholarly proposals on the basis of it.

The humanities DO really matter

The Decline and Fall of the English Major

Writing well used to be a fundamental principle of the humanities, as essential as the knowledge of mathematics and statistics in the sciences. But writing well isn’t merely a utilitarian skill. It is about developing a rational grace and energy in your conversation with the world around you.

No one has found a way to put a dollar sign on this kind of literacy, and I doubt anyone ever will. But everyone who possesses it — no matter how or when it was acquired — knows that it is a rare and precious inheritance.

Dylan Thomas is hands down my favourite poet

I hope the centre named in his honour continues to inspire others.

Artists' fears over Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea

More than 200 writers, artists and supporters of Swansea's Dylan Thomas Centre have signed a letter expressing concerns about its future use.

Dr Who writer Russell T Davies, Cerys Matthews and Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy are among the names calling for it to be run by trust.

Swansea council is looking lease the centre to the city's universities to open a "creative industries hub."

It said the centre would not close and the permanent exhibition would remain.

The letter states since the centre was opened 17 years ago by former US president Jimmy Carter it had delivered a programme of literary and artistic events "unparalleled for its variety and excellence by any other arts venue in the United Kingdom".

It adds: "The centre has celebrated the literary arts of Wales, in addition to music, drama and the visual arts, and has attracted to Swansea a panoply of internationally renowned writers who, returning home, have burnished the renown of Swansea and Wales in all parts of the world."

I spent 11 years in a history grad programme without getting my PhD

If only I had seen this first...



Like many grads in the humanities, I wound up as a librarian. Granted, I've been underemployed for years, but in the long run, I think it was a better idea.

Of course, there is this:



Thanks to David Rothman for sharing.

Nice to see this being discussed in the media

In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth

One idea that elite universities like Yale, sprawling public systems like Wisconsin and smaller private colleges like Lewis and Clark have shared for generations is that a traditional liberal arts education is, by definition, not intended to prepare students for a specific vocation. Rather, the critical thinking, civic and historical knowledge and ethical reasoning that the humanities develop have a different purpose: They are prerequisites for personal growth and participation in a free democracy, regardless of career choice.

The article discusses the particular challenges to the humanities and those who choose to study them in hard oeconomic times. Faculty positions get retired rather than filled, jobs are hard to come by, budgets shrink--but the essence of the humanities is that they are even more relevant in a society where greed and unethical behaviour has brought the oeconomy down, and a well-versed and well-read President struggles to bring hope back to the country. Marketing the humanities is especially important now.

I love the humanities. Although I was a sociology major as well, I majored in history, then went back to school to complete a major in classical civilisation and a minor in Judaic studies. I was one class short of a linguistics major and also studied German, Latin, French, Ancient Hebrew, and Ancient Greek (I'd studied Spanish in junior high and high school). I went on to be 'all but thesis' for an advanced degree in mediaeval and early modern European history (it wasn't the thesis or the classes that were my downfall--I did well on papers and in class; it was the oral exam, of which I was terrified. Now I've gotten through much of that anxiety, but I'd have to start all over on my doctorate and I don't have the financial aid available for that). I spent years in school, and I have the student loans to prove it. Maybe I don't have the greatest standard of living in the world, but I'd never change my choices for what I studied. The breadth and depth of humanities is greater than any other course of study I could have taken.

I use it every day, from my Latin aiding my medical terminology, to research skills (honed through library school, too, of course), to an appreciation of art, literature, music, language, and history. I would recommend the liberal arts to anyone going into school, and if they're worried about not being employable, a double major is quite doable and a benefit, so you can do business and language or philosophy, and that may be the extra umphf that cinches a job offer.

I always planned on teaching and researching at a college. I never planned on being a librarian. But I've found it very fulfilling and I'm good at it, and although I am a medical librarian, I'm never very far from the humanities I love, either. When I first got my job, the chief of staff emeritus saw that I'd studied Latin and immediately shot some at me, which I answered in kind. We bonded over that and he is a great believer in the library, a staunch supporter I can draw on when times are tough.

Thanks to Steven over at Library Stuff for the link.