Rob Townsend

University faculty provide perspective on the role of humanities today | The Chimes University faculty have been discussing how to navigate conversations that build an environment where students are encouraged to share and learn new ideas

“That kind of difficult, deep thinking that you do in a humanities degree is the very same skill set that is going to help you be a good leader [in any field].” bit.ly/4l6C10b

For a More Ambitious Humanities | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson When it comes to the crisis of the humanities, the call is coming from inside the house. Internal issues are also driving individuals away from the humanities, and none are more poisonous — nor more c...

"Internal issues are also driving individuals away from the humanities, and none are more poisonous — nor more crucial to address — than hyperspecialization." bit.ly/3Mwzu2L

Why are you studying that? Columnist Gloria Oladejo argues that Penn’s culture neglects the humanities and hurts all students, no matter what field of study they pursue. 

"Even if Penn won’t promote the humanities, we can still work to dismantle the culture that deems liberal arts subjects as futile or pointless, both within our undergraduate careers and beyond" bit.ly/4aCDO9M

Humanities skills are transferable skills UC Santa Cruz humanities students graduate with a toolkit of transferable skills in high demand across fields ranging from academia to the entertainment industry and high-tech startups. Here are the s...

“While a BA in history is an unlikely starting point for where I’ve ended up, the core values of inquiry, challenging assumptions, and supporting your arguments with evidence is a good place to come from for many roles” bit.ly/4kYNHCf

The Value of Critical Thinking: Humanities in a Technological Era A liberal arts education is often derided, but the humanities promote the kind of critical thinking that’s needed in an AI world.

"even the economic piece of this argument is not borne out by the data. Recent research from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences shows strong state-by-state employment trends for humanities graduates" bit.ly/3OFLHTd

English majors were mocked for years. Now they're gaining momentum in the AI job market. For years, English majors were mocked as useless. Now, AI is giving them some momentum in the job market, while computer science grads get disrupted.

"The class gives STEM students a way to think about the ethics of AI, he said. In other courses, #humanities majors can use their skills to evaluate how AI writes, what it means for the practice of writing, and what the "self" means in an AI world.": bit.ly/3OyHAsf

The Value of Critical Thinking: Humanities in a Technological Era A liberal arts education is often derided, but the humanities promote the kind of critical thinking that’s needed in an AI world.

"The truth is that for quite some time, businesses and employers have actively sought graduates who demonstrate the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and solve complex problems. It goes without saying that these skills are honed through the study of the humanities" bit.ly/3OFLHTd

"Mellon remains committed to exercising that freedom in support of the humanities—and proud to partner with you in building a scholarly and cultural landscape that is intellectually rigorous, culturally rich, historically grounded, and reflective of the full American story." bit.ly/4axN5zZ

Indiana Bill Would Use Federal Earnings Test to End Programs Congress’s new earnings test will stop students from receiving federal aid for some programs. A Hoosier State bill goes further, putting those degrees on the chopping block.

"The trend, if it picks up steam, could represent a new tool in how Republican states hold universities accountable for—and increasingly define the value of academic disciplines by—how much money they can earn students." bit.ly/3N0Yv6d

After federal funding cuts to Humanities ND, organization moving forward with new name and outlook “It’s an opportunity to make it more durable and stronger," said Brenna Gerhardt, executive director of the newly renamed The Study ND.

“‘Humanities’ was a word people didn’t understand. That word was getting in the way of our mission,” Gerhardt said. “How can we show people what the humanities are if we can’t get them through the front door?” bit.ly/4s2qm4X

How liberal arts majors are breaking into tech Willamette University students are finding their place in the evolving tech space by pairing human insight with interdisciplinary skills.

“You can’t do computer science if you don’t understand how humans interact with technology. You can’t do any of it unless you are comfortable working on teams and communicating across difference.” bit.ly/4tNqSFt

UT Austin consolidates ethnic and gender studies, causing uncertainty for hundreds of students The affected departments include African and African Diaspora Studies; Mexican American and Latina/o Studies; Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies; and several others.

"The University of Texas at Austin is restructuring seven ethnic and gender studies departments into two new departments, causing concern among students and faculty." bit.ly/3MjDBiz

"Despite broad agreement that arts and culture have intrinsic value in public life, the general consensus is that cultural institutions need to rethink how they articulate and communicate that value." bit.ly/4qJb4Rq

UNC Charlotte poised to launch UNC System’s first AI and humanities program What has been the focus of the program's pending approval for weeks is: how does AI fall under a department such as the College of Humanities and Earth and Social

"If approved, students would graduate with an interdisciplinary studies degree, with an AI specialization, combining coursework from the humanities, social sciences and applied technology." bit.ly/3My8Lmm

"Wichita State University has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to create the Wichita HIREs program: Humanities Internships Reward Employers, an initiative designed to expand applied learning opportunities for students pursuing humanities degrees." bit.ly/4kF3TIC

Anthropic cofounder says she doesn't regret her literature major — and says AI will make humanities majors 'more important' Anthropic president Daniela Amodei said that, in the age of AI, we should "prize the things that make us human" — like literature degrees.

"Anthropic cofounder says she doesn't regret her literature major — and says AI will make humanities majors 'more important'" bit.ly/4rhuXjH

Liner Note 47. Did The Atlantic’s Anti-Woke Bias Spoil its Analysis of Humanities Funding Death? East Village on October 31, 2022    Looks like it.     There’s some good stuff in Tyler Austin Harper’s  Atlantic  article,  “The Multibil...

"I can find reports galore about the crisis in STEM funding... I can find nothing from the humanities associations about their research funding problems." bit.ly/4aV8anS

Hilarious

Arts and Humanities Classes: Why You Should Take Them And Take Them Seriously While STEM is undoubtedly a vital study, so are the humanities. The humanities and their application serve to contextualize facts and data and studies. While much of STEM is binary, with an exact righ...

"The humanities and their application serve to contextualize facts, data, and studies.... With that, I implore you to not only take an arts or creative humanities class, but to take it seriously." bit.ly/4aLNQp3

Amusing from a 1989 book on "the computer revolution": "Anyone who reads newspapers and magazines these days has heard the term "Artificial Intelligence." It inspires awe in the business community and concern or puzzlement in most other places." Plus ça change...

"Ball State University...is launching Humanities in Action, a new initiative that will connect humanities students with paid internships in nonprofit organizations—strengthening career readiness, supporting community partners, and highlighting the value of humanities education" bit.ly/4rKkzAC

The National Survey of Artists | NORC at the University of Chicago Painting a nationally representative portrait of the lives and livelihoods of U.S. artists

"More than half (57 percent) of artists reported being somewhat or very worried about at least one form of financial vulnerability—such as affording food, housing, medical care, or utilities—and more than one-third (37 percent) reported using some form of public assistance." bit.ly/46I0bYQ

Public Humanities Aren’t Extra. They’re How We Practice Democracy. When I tell people I’m an English major, the follow-up is almost always the same: “So… what are you going to do with that?”

"We keep saying we want young people to lead, newcomers to feel at home, neighbors to trust each other across differences. Public humanities are how we make those promises real...they are, concretely, part of the operating system of self-government." bit.ly/4ksHaiN

Anthropic’s Cofounder Emphasizes Humanities Studies in the AI-Powered Era The cofounder of Anthropic recently spoke about the study of the humanities and its relevance to the workplace despite the rise of AI.

"Rather than abandoning the study of humanities entirely for AI, it might be better to evolve skillsets to meet market needs. A mix of AI engineers plus humanities experts is a far better combination than relying on the tech alone." bit.ly/4aqerXp

Literature and Cultural Studies program cut, replaced with Computational Cultural Studies - The Tartan In Feb. 2024, Richard Scheines, Dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, placed an administrative hold on admissions to Carnegie

"In Sept. 2025, the Department of English announced that it would cease accepting new applications to the doctoral program and instead reorganize the curriculum under a new title — Computational Cultural Studies (CCS)." bit.ly/3ZsJAEx

Humanities more important than ever in digital age The notion that "the humanities are useless" is not new, but it has gained renewed poignancy in today's artificial intelligence-driven world.

"AI still cannot adequately cover the unique domain of "critical thinking" that belongs to the humanities...the issue lies ... with whether humanists possess the courage and capability to shoulder the responsibilities of the era and confront its challenges." bit.ly/3Zvb3p8

Why I Don’t Regret Majoring in the Humanities Literature, it turns out, is a great teacher of humility.

"we do a disservice to young people when we discourage them from pursuing the liberal arts and treat education as the mere acquisition of skills and knowledge. To withstand the challenges posed by scientism and politics... the #humanities need positive accounts of their value." bit.ly/45XTTUO

Bill could affect history and social science lessons for students across Virginia A bill being discussed in Richmond could impact what students across Virginia learn in history and social science classrooms.

“House Bill 614 would change statewide learning standards by requiring public schools to include the contributions and experiences of groups described as “historically marginalized” in history and social science instruction.” bit.ly/4rzUOTF

"To be engaged in learning of any kind is an exercise in patience and practice. And if we practice the humanities and learn from other cultures, we’re more likely to understand who we are, where we came from and where we’re going." bit.ly/3MuDyjP

How Instructors Regulate AI in College: Evidence from 31,000 Course Syllabi Author(s): Chirikov, Igor

Study of comparative AI policies in class syllabi finds #humanities "adopting the most restrictive policies in 2023 and remaining the most restrictive through Fall 2025....Business courses are 43 percentage points less likely than Humanities courses to be fully restrictive" bit.ly/3ZEkBhP