Humanities World Report 2015

Abstract

List of Tables viii 1 IntroductionThe purpose and scope of this report Some qualifications Our sources Outline of the report Prospects for the future 2 The Value of the Humanities Introduction Intrinsic value Social value Heritage, culture, memory The economic value of the humanities Contribution to other disciplines Innovation Critical thinking Personal and spiritual development Aesthetic appreciation A distributional survey of the interview responses Strategies for justification Conclusions 3 The Nature of the Humanities Part I Thematic orientations Part II Reactions to the term 'findings' Knowledge Breakthroughs Perception of the humanities Conclusion vi Contents 4 The Digital Humanities The world of professional digital humanists Research trends Resistance to digital humanities Interview responses Conclusion 5 Translating the Humanities Translational research practices Translational medicine Evidence from interviews Evidence from national reports Conclusion 6 The Culture of Humanities Research 7 Funding and Infrastructure Core funding for research Non-governmental funding in developing countries Competitive funding streams in developed countries Research institutes Infrastructure Conclusion

The humanities as allies: media studies and the web

“…For those readers who have their anchoring within the humanities, the rubric of this section no doubt sounds redundant; for other readers, I wish to recapitulate a number of very traditional arguments. I do this with a starting point in a rather recent text by Holm, Scott and Jarrick (2014); their Humanities World Report 2015 is both a survey of the views of leading humanistic scholars from around the world as well as an original contribution to the contemporary discussions about the state of the humanities.…”

“…Further, Holm, Scott and Jarrick (2014) posit that the traditional benefits of the humanities now have an extra relevance in the context of heterogeneous societies: they have 'broad social value' in their striving to create tolerance and understanding between citizens, facilitating social cohesion. The pertinence of this needs hardly be defended in the context of our multifarious, multicultural societies, where living together with difference is proving to be an ever greater challenge.…”

Exploring Academic Major Choice and Self-Efficacy in a Shifting Landscape: Low-Income Undergraduate Students and Pursuit of the Humanities Degree

“…As enrollment declines are highlighted in support of applied disciplines and federal funding has declined from $855 million in 2008 to $594 million in 2014 (Holm, Jarrick & Scott, 2015), humanities faculty are forced to examine their disciplinary purpose and personal pedagogy while advocating for their professional livelihoods. Increasingly, students enroll in humanities courses as general education requirements rather than by choice--an environment arguably difficult for enticing major enrollment (Gair & Mullins, 2001).…”

“…This often comes in the form of digital humanities where traditional texts and topics are being discovered through new approaches. At Stanford University, students use technology developed to explore rap music as a means for annotating the work of Homer and Virgil (Holm, Jarrick & Scott, 2015). At UCLA, an undergraduate minor and graduate certificate in digital humanities offers innovative approaches to classic disciplines (Holm, Jarrick & Scott, 2015).…”

“…At Stanford University, students use technology developed to explore rap music as a means for annotating the work of Homer and Virgil (Holm, Jarrick & Scott, 2015). At UCLA, an undergraduate minor and graduate certificate in digital humanities offers innovative approaches to classic disciplines (Holm, Jarrick & Scott, 2015). These faculty argue that explicit connections between the humanities and vocational outcomes are necessary for major enrollment to grow (Hearn & Belasco, 2015).…”