Plenary Session: The State and Future of the Humanities in the United States

Saturday, January 6, 2018: 8:30 PM-9:30 PM
Marriott Ballroom, Salon 3 (Marriott Wardman Park, Lobby Level)
Chair:
Claire Potter, The New School
Speakers:
William D. Adams, former chair, National Endowment for the Humanities
Earl Lewis, Emory University
How has the landscape of humanities practice changed – and not changed – in the past decade? By what measures might we chart its health and future, and the enterprises that need support? In a stagnant academic job market, how do we account for nodes of resistance to humanities employment outside a traditional academic environment – from graduate mentors, students, and contingently employed faculty? How should universities rethink, and take a leadership role in, a 21st century humanities practice that exceeds the academy and conventional cultural institutions? This moderated conversation looks to a future in which the lines of public and private humanities practice will not only be increasingly blurred, but will need to articulate their relevance to non-profit and for-profit sectors beyond education.
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