What Everyone Says
Public Perceptions of the Humanities in the Media
Alan Liu (University of California)
Abigail Droge (University of California)
Scott Kleinman (California State University Northridge)
Lindsay Thomas (University of Miami)
Dan Costa Baciu (TU Delft - History, Form & Aesthetics)
Jeremy Douglass (University of California)
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Abstract
Using computational means to understand patterns in how the humanities are men-tioned in U.S. journalism, the WhatEvery1Says project brings into focus challenging problems in the perception of the humanities. This essay reports on the project’s findings and some of the further questions that emerged from them. For example, how does the “humanities crisis” appear among the many crises of our time? Why do the humanities figure so often in connection with concrete, ordinary life yet also seem ab-stract in value? How can more of the substance of humanistic research be communicated as opposed to appearing as just academic business? And why is there so little focus in the media on how underrepresented populations are positioned in relation to the humanities by comparison to science and social, political, or economic issues? The essay concludes by recommending that the humanities reframe their crisis as part of larger human crises requiring multidisciplinary “grand challenge” approaches.
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