“Once again, there are signs of deep trouble for the humanities in higher education — in the Western world, if not the world as a whole. News of closures trickles in relentlessly. At New Zealand’s Victoria University, ancient Greek, Latin, and Italian were all given the ax. Michigan’s Cornerstone University, in Grand Rapids, reduced and merged its humanities programs. Leaders at the Duksung Women’s University, in Seoul, South Korea, have proposed closing the institution’s German-literature and French-literature departments. In such circumstances, opinion pieces lamenting the fate of humanistic education have understandably proliferated.”
“These trends offer an important opportunity to ponder the place and purpose of the humanities. One promising effort to do so is spearheaded by the Society for the History of the Humanities, an organization established in the last decade. Its journal, History of Humanities, began publishing in the spring of 2016. The journal’s inaugural editorial announces in its bold title ‘A New Field: History of Humanities.”
Would our Australian “history” industry push for this “new” global “innovation,” to be re-established in Australian universities?
Or are we all too stupid now?
From Eric Adler, “The Promises and Pitfall of a ‘Global Humanities: Multiculturalism alone won’t save us.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 5, 2024.
Featured Images: Two Websites of the Humanities: History of Humanities and The Chronicle of Higher Education
Neville Buch
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