Humanities

==Today==

=== Education and employment ===
For many decades, there has been a growing public perception that a humanities education inadequately prepares graduates for employment.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hersh|first=Richard H.|date=1997-03-01|title=Intention and Perceptions A National Survey of Public Attitudes Toward Liberal Arts Education|journal=Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning|volume=29|issue=2|pages=16–23|doi=10.1080/00091389709603100|issn=0009-1383}}</ref> The common belief is that graduates from such programs face underemployment and incomes too low for a humanities education to be worth the investment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/hooray_for_worthless_education/|title=Hooray for "worthless" education!|last=Williams|first=Mary Elizabeth|website=Salon|date=27 March 2014|access-date=2017-02-28}}</ref>

Humanities graduates find employment in a wide variety of management and professional occupations. In Britain, for example, over 11,000 humanities majors found employment in the following occupations:
* Education (25.8%)
* Management (19.8%)
* Media/Literature/Arts (11.4%)
* Law (11.3%)
* Finance (10.4%)
* Civil service (5.8%)
* Not-for-profit (5.2%)
* Marketing (2.3%)
* Medicine (1.7%)
* Other (6.4%)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://torch.ox.ac.uk/sites/torch/files/publications/Humanities%20Graduates%20and%20the%20British%20Economy%20-%20University%20of%20Oxford.pdf|title=Humanities graduates and the British economy: The hidden impact|last=Kreager|first=Philip|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180506125120/http://torch.ox.ac.uk/sites/torch/files/publications/Humanities%20Graduates%20and%20the%20British%20Economy%20-%20University%20of%20Oxford.pdf|archive-date=2018-05-06|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Many humanities graduates may find themselves with no specific career goals upon graduation, which can lead to lower incomes in the early stages of their career. On the other hand, graduates from more career-oriented programs often find jobs more quickly. However, the long-term career prospects of humanities graduates may be similar to those of other graduates, as research shows that by five years after graduation, they generally find a career path that appeals to them.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Koc|first=Edwin W|year=2010|title=The Liberal Arts Graduate College Hiring Market|url=https://canvas.wisc.edu/files/77515/download?download_frd=1&verifier=yadEsAdLKIQpRNLKXPwePhZh1jVmeqF7AInh8qDc|journal=National Association of Colleges and Employers|pages=14–21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008155.pdf|title=Ten Years After College: Comparing the Employment Experiences of 1992–93 Bachelor's Degree Recipients With Academic and Career Oriented Majors}}</ref>

There is empirical evidence that graduates from humanities programs earn less than graduates from other university programs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-626-x/11-626-x2014040-eng.htm|title=The Cumulative Earnings of Postsecondary Graduates Over 20 Years: Results by Field of Study|date=28 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.humanitiesindicators.org/content/indicatordoc.aspx?i=64|title=Earnings of Humanities Majors with a Terminal Bachelor's Degree}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hamiltonproject.org/charts/career_earnings_by_college_major/|title=Career earnings by college major}}</ref> However, the empirical evidence also shows that humanities graduates still earn notably higher incomes than workers with no postsecondary education, and have job satisfaction levels comparable to their peers from other fields.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The State of the Humanities 2018: Graduates in the Workforce & Beyond|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|year=2018|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=5–6, 12, 19}}</ref> Humanities graduates also earn more as their careers progress; ten years after graduation, the income difference between humanities graduates and graduates from other university programs is no longer statistically significant.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Adamuti-Trache |first=Maria |display-authors=etal |year=2006 |title=The Labour Market Value of Liberal Arts and Applied Education Programs: Evidence from British Columbia |url=http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/article/view/183539/183484 |journal=Canadian Journal of Higher Education |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=49–74 |doi=10.47678/cjhe.v36i2.183539 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Humanities graduates can boost their incomes if they obtain advanced or professional degrees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.humanitiesindicators.org/content/indicatordoc.aspx?i=10777|title=Boost in Median Annual Earnings Associated with Obtaining an Advanced Degree, by Gender and Field of Undergraduate Degree}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.humanitiesindicators.org/content/indicatordoc.aspx?i=10780|title=Earnings of Humanities Majors with an Advanced Degree}}</ref>

===In the United States===
{{Main|Humanities in the United States}}

====The Humanities Indicators====
The [[Humanities Indicators]], unveiled in 2009 by the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], are the first comprehensive compilation of data about the humanities in the United States, providing scholars, policymakers and the public with detailed information on humanities education from primary to higher education, the humanities workforce, humanities funding and research, and public humanities activities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amacad.org/ |title=American Academy of Arts & Sciences |publisher=Amacad.org |date=2013-11-14 |access-date=2014-01-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.humanitiesindicators.org/ |title=Humanities Indicators |publisher=Humanities Indicators |access-date=2014-01-04}}</ref> Modeled after the National Science Board's Science and Engineering Indicators, the Humanities Indicators are a source of reliable benchmarks to guide analysis of the state of the humanities in the United States.

====''The Humanities in American Life''====
The 1980 United States Rockefeller Commission on the Humanities described the humanities in its report, ''The Humanities in American Life'':
<blockquote>Through the humanities we reflect on the fundamental question: What does it mean to be human? The humanities offer clues but never a complete answer. They reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual, and intellectual sense of a world where irrationality, despair, loneliness, and death are as conspicuous as birth, friendship, hope, and reason.</blockquote>

====As a major====

In 1950, 1.2% of Americans aged 22 had earned a degree in the humanities. By 2010, this figure had risen to 2.6%. This represents a doubling of the number of Americans with degrees in the humanities over a 60-year period.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Schmidt|first1=Ben|title=A Crisis in the Humanities? (10 June 2013)|url=http://www.chronicle.com/blognetwork/edgeofthewest/2013/06/10/the-humanities-crisis/|website=The Chronicle|date=10 June 2013 |access-date=4 February 2018}}</ref> The increase in the number of Americans with humanities degrees is in part due to the overall rise in college enrollment in the United States. In 1940, 4.6% of Americans had a four-year degree, but by 2016, this figure had risen to 33.4%. This means that the total number of Americans with college degrees has increased significantly, resulting in a greater number of people with degrees in the humanities as well.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wilson|first1=Reid|title=Census: More Americans have college degrees than ever before|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/326995-census-more-americans-have-college-degrees-than-ever-before/|access-date=4 February 2018|newspaper=The Hill|date=4 March 2017}}</ref> The proportion of degrees awarded in the humanities has declined in recent decades, even as the overall number of people with humanities degrees has increased. In 1954, 36 percent of Harvard undergraduates majored in the humanities, but in 2012, only 20 percent took that course of study.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schuessler|first1=Jennifer|title=Humanities Committee Sounds an Alarm|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/arts/humanities-committee-sounds-an-alarm.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=4 February 2018|newspaper=New York Times|date=18 June 2013}}</ref> Professor Benjamin Schmidt of Northeastern University has documented that between 1990 and 2008, degrees in English, history, foreign languages, and philosophy have decreased from 8 percent to just under 5 percent of all U.S. college degrees.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-08-14/the-great-recession-never-ended-for-college-humanities|title=The Great Recession Never Ended for College Humanities|last=Smith|first=Noah|date=14 August 2018|newspaper=Bloomberg.com |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726044556/https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-08-14/the-great-recession-never-ended-for-college-humanities |archive-date= Jul 26, 2020 }}</ref>

====In liberal arts education====
[[The Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences]] 2013 report, ''The Heart of the Matter, supports'' the notion of a broad "[[Liberal arts colleges|liberal arts education]]", which includes study in disciplines from the natural sciences to the arts as well as the humanities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/06/18/humanities-social-sciences-column/2436093/ |date=Jun 18, 2013 |first1=Norman |last1=Augustine |first2=David |last2=Skorton |title=Humanities, social sciences critical to our future |website=[[USA Today]] |access-date=2017-11-02 |archive-date=2018-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016114736/https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/06/18/humanities-social-sciences-column/2436093/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/428644/august-15-2013/richard-brodhead |title=The Colbert Report: Richard Brodhead |date= August 15, 2013 |website=Colbert Nation |access-date=2013-09-09 |archive-date=2013-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909041842/http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/428644/august-15-2013/richard-brodhead |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Many [[colleges]] provide such an education; some require it. The [[University of Chicago]] and [[Columbia University]] were among the first schools to require an extensive [[core curriculum]] in philosophy, literature, and the arts for all students.<ref>[[Louis Menand]], "The Problem of General Education", in ''The Marketplace of Ideas'' (W. W. Norton, 2010), especially pp. 32–43.</ref> Other colleges with nationally recognized, mandatory programs in the liberal arts are [[Fordham University]], [[St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe)|St. John's College]], [[Saint Anselm College]] and [[Providence College]]. Prominent proponents of liberal arts in the United States have included [[Mortimer J. Adler]]<ref>Adler, Mortimer J.; "A Guidebook to Learning: For the Lifelong Pursuit of Wisdom"</ref> and [[E. D. Hirsch, Jr.]]

====In the digital age====
Researchers in the humanities have developed numerous large- and small-scale digital corporations, such as digitized collections of historical texts, along with the digital tools and methods to analyze them. Their aim is both to uncover new knowledge about corpora and to visualize research data in new and revealing ways. Much of this activity occurs in a field called the [[digital humanities]].

====STEM====
Politicians in the United States currently espouse a need for increased funding of the [[STEM fields]], science, technology, engineering, mathematics.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/reform |title=Whitehouse.gov |access-date=2014-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021222654/http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/reform |archive-date=2014-10-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Federal funding represents a much smaller fraction of funding for humanities than other fields such as STEM or medicine.<ref name="bi_26Jun2013">''America Is Raising A Generation Of Kids Who Can't Think Or Write Clearly'', [http://www.businessinsider.com/the-war-against-humanities-2013-6 Business Insider] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029054524/http://www.businessinsider.com/the-war-against-humanities-2013-6 |date=2014-10-29 }}</ref> The result was a decline of quality in both college and pre-college education in the humanities field.<ref name="bi_26Jun2013"/>

Three-term Louisiana Governor, [[Edwin Edwards]] acknowledged the importance of the humanities in a 2014 video address<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUY5c9IrAHE |title=YouTube |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2014-10-29 |archive-date=2015-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517203300/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUY5c9IrAHE |url-status=live }}</ref> to the academic conference,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210228013512/http://scedhs2014.uqam.ca/ Scedhs2014.uqam.ca]</ref> ''Revolutions in Eighteenth-Century Sociability''. Edwards said:
:Without the humanities to teach us how history has succeeded or failed in directing the fruits of technology and science to the betterment of our tribe of ''homo sapiens'', without the humanities to teach us how to frame the discussion and to properly debate the uses-and the costs-of technology, without the humanities to teach us how to safely debate how to create a more just society with our fellow man and woman, technology and science would eventually default to the ownership of—and misuse by—the most influential, the most powerful, the most feared among us.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/8919778 |title=Academia.edu |access-date=2014-10-29 |archive-date=2018-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002050619/http://www.academia.edu/8919778/Introductory_remarks_by_former_four-term_Louisiana_Governor_Edwin_W._Edwards_Honorary_Chair_Montreal_Enlightenment_Conference_October_18_2014 |url-status=live |last1=Eaton |first1=Fernin }}</ref>

===In Europe===

====The value of the humanities debate====

The contemporary debate in the field of [[critical university studies]] centers around the declining value of the humanities.<ref>[[Stefan Collini]], "What Are Universities For?" (Penguin 2012)</ref><ref>[[Helen Small]], "The Value of the Humanities"(Oxford University Press 2013)</ref> As in America, there is a perceived decline in interest within higher education policy in research that is qualitative and does not produce marketable products. This threat can be seen in a variety of forms across Europe, but much critical attention has been given to the field of research assessment in particular. For example, the UK [Research Excellence Framework] has been subject to criticism due to its assessment criteria from across the humanities, and indeed, the social sciences.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1057/palcomms.2017.20|title = The future of research assessment in the humanities: Bottom-up assessment procedures|year = 2017|last1 = Ochsner|first1 = Michael|last2 = Hug|first2 = Sven|last3 = Galleron|first3 = Ioana|journal = Palgrave Communications|volume = 3|doi-access = free|hdl = 20.500.11850/227355|hdl-access = free}}</ref> In particular, the notion of "impact" has generated significant debate.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bulaitis |first1=Zoe |title=Measuring impact in the humanities: Learning from accountability and economics in a contemporary history of cultural value |journal=Palgrave Communications |date=31 October 2017 |volume=3 |issue=1 |doi=10.1057/s41599-017-0002-7|doi-access=free |hdl=10871/37325 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>