Rob Townsend (also @rbtownsend.bsky.social)

“A new humanities department survey (HDS) demonstrates both the challenges the field faces today and the resilience of many departments in the face of those difficulties.” bit.ly/HDS4_Intro

“If we do nothing, or if we become divided, we will essentially hand over control of shaping the future of the arts and humanities at UChicago to others outside our division” bit.ly/4f7YM0L

“When students realize their own humanity is at stake in their education, they are deeply invested in it.” bit.ly/457AAYZ

"The staying power of the classics, Kirkpatrick and English teachers say, has as much to do with inertia as literary merit." bit.ly/40zwd6t

"state legislators need to hear from citizens who care about liberal-arts education and academic renewal. Their decisions can either help revive the liberal arts or deliver a decisive blow to its future." bit.ly/3IJr0Ty

This validates the concerns of creators that Google AI is diverting traffic away from from their content: bit.ly/46I9Fo7

"We want students to...explore how arts and humanities perspectives can be integrated dynamically into the open-ended and complex networks of knowledge, interpretation, and practice that make up contemporary society." bit.ly/4nXIwn3

“employees of the National Park Service have flagged descriptions and displays at scores of parks and historic sites for review in connection with President Trump’s directive to remove or cover up materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans.”” nyti.ms/44YjlIn

“the humanities play an indispensable role in addressing humanity’s challenges, from expanding artificial intelligence and climate migration to autocratic intellectual clampdown. Understanding their past will prepare us better for our future.” bit.ly/4m66evD

"The charges, Delogu said, stem from a growing need in higher education to justify the existence of the humanities at large and to demonstrate the value of humanities students beyond academia" bit.ly/46TruQP

“It could take decades to recover from the proposed cut if it were to pass, Hill said. 'It’s just less to go around in a field that’s already feeling the lack of support.'” bit.ly/4m3sV3s

"the new course is meant to help students use the humanities and social sciences as their guide to thinking about the kind of humans they want to be and what kind of society they want to help create." bit.ly/4nQuSSG

"the value of the humanities is not even the content that we give. It's our ability to thrive in ambiguity" bit.ly/3TMdHUA

Interesting new funding opportunity "to support a more holistic understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) in the modern world through the creation of new humanities research centers on artificial intelligence" bit.ly/45aDFaI

“Across interventions, students who participated in the programs were more likely to say they feel connected to their peers, see the value of their degree and intend to persist” bit.ly/3GP9Vaa

"We are at a critical moment for the arts and humanities in this country, and it is more important than ever that you support your local organizations" bit.ly/3IAYPWY

"the truth is that no one in Australia has a handle on the cumulative effects of cuts and their impact on our national skills and knowledge capabilities; a sovereign risk that neither the government nor the university sector is assessing." bit.ly/44NtF60

Join us for a conversation about "the evolving relationship between human expression and AI" (August 11 at 4:00 ET). Register at bit.ly/4lW2vAC

New House Appropriations Committee bill calls for a 35% cut to the NEH budget next year (per National Humanities Alliance): bit.ly/3TJCKYn

“People forget that, for centuries, mathematics, logic and music were taught together...Now we’re reuniting these fields because the challenges we face demand a combination of technical proficiency and humanistic insight.” bit.ly/4kJe8tV

"It worries faculty and scholarly groups, who stress that the number of majors in a program isn’t the only or best way to gauge its worth." bit.ly/4lVU2gU