The humanities are vibrant and exciting fields of study. Here are few examples of ongoing humanities projects that you can explore:

 

    • The National Endowment for the Humanities has a website with links to some ongoing projects that will be of interest to students, teachers, anyone with a lively curiosity about the world.

 

    • One of the most exciting current trends is the emerging field of Digital Humanities. Keep up with the latest developments by visiting Digital Humanities Now.

 

    • Archaeologists are using 21st century technology to make more accurate digital reconstructions of ancient monuments. Visit the Smithsonian Society to see the results in the study of the temple complex of Ankor Wat in Cambodia.

 

    • More and more the documents produced over millennia of human creativity—literary texts, historical records, manuscripts—are being digitized and made accessible online. You can use this website to browse digitized manuscripts in the British Library in London.

 

    • One of the world’s great art museums is right here in Cleveland, but maybe you’d like to check out the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York too. You don’t need to travel further than your computer to view the Met’s entire collection online!

 

The humanities are at the forefront of many academic, philosophic, and economic conversations. Here are some recent articles that discuss the importance of the humanities to both higher education and the world:

“[The new study] shows humanities grads to be gainfully employed and holding positions of authority, and finds that only a slightly smaller share of them than of their better-paid counterparts think they have enough money. When it comes to measures of career satisfaction, humanities grads are as satisfied as those who majored in STEM.”

–Shocker: Humanities Grads Gainfully Employed and Happy (Inside Higher Ed)

 

“Humanities research teaches us about the world beyond the classroom, and beyond a job. Humanities scholars explore ethical issues, and discover how the past informs the present and the future. Researchers delve into the discourses that construct gender, race, and class. We learn to decode the images that surround us; to understand and use the language necessary to navigate a complex and rapidly shifting world.”

– Humanities research is groundbreaking, life-changing… and ignored (The Guardian)

 

“Roboticist Laurel Riek and her colleague at the University of Notre Dame, ethicist Don Howard, have proposed establishing a designer’s code of ethics…”

– Robot ‘Code of Ethics’ Could Move From Sci-Fi to Real Life (NBCNews.com)

 

“In the humanities, there are sound reasons for sticking with the traditional model of the large lecture course combined with small weekly discussion sections. Lectures are essential for teaching the humanities’ most basic skills: comprehension and reasoning, skills whose value extends beyond the classroom to the essential demands of working life and citizenship.”

– Lecture Me. Really. (NYTimes.com)

 

“People without a liberal-arts background really have no place to go with their skill sets,” said Frank Guido, a Culinary Institute student from Rochester, New York, sitting in the campus café and studying the Mayan Indians for a course he’s taking in history and culture. “They lack an overall knowledge, and an ability to relate to people and make educated decisions, and not jump to conclusions.”

– The Unexpected Schools Championing the Liberal Arts (The Atlantic)