The Humanities are academic disciplines that seek to understand and interpret the human experience, from individuals to entire cultures, engaging in the discovery, preservation, and communication of the past and present record to enable a deeper understanding of contemporary society. The Humanities encompass literature, classics, ancient and modern languages, history, philoso - phy, media studies, the fine and performing arts, and other related subjects. It can be a challenge to show the benefits the Humanities bring: in this infographic we gather available evidence to show the Humanities matter

4Humanities

Henseler, S.

Liu, A.

Priego, E.

Rockwell, G.

Sinclair, S.

Terras, M.

Thomas, L.

City Research Online

Terras, M., Priego, E., Liu, A., Rockwell, G., Sinclair, S., Henseler, S. & Thomas, L. (2014). The Humanities Matter! (Report No. 10.6084/m9.figshare.949625). London, UK: 4Humanities, University of Alberta. City Research OnlineOriginal citation: Terras, M., Priego, E., Liu, A., Rockwell, G., Sinclair, S., Henseler, S. & Thomas, L. (2014). The Humanities Matter! (Report No. 10.6084/m9.figshare.949625). London, UK: 4Humanities, University of Alberta. Permanent City Research Online URL: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/7450/ Copyright & reuseCity University London has developed City Research Online so that its users may access the research outputs of City University London's staff. Copyright © and Moral Rights for this paper are retained by the individual author(s) and/ or other copyright holders.  All material in City Research Online is checked for eligibility for copyright before being made available in the live archive. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to from other web pages. Versions of researchThe version in City Research Online may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check the Permanent City Research Online URL above for the status of the paper.EnquiriesIf you have any enquiries about any aspect of City Research Online, or if you wish to make contact with the author(s) of this paper, please email the team at publications@city.ac.uk.Presented by 4Humanities and UCL Centre for Digital HumanitiesThe Humanities teach us to deal critically and logically with subjective, complex, imperfect information.They teach us to weigh evidence skeptically, and consider more than one side of every question.The Humanities encourage us to think creatively.They teach us to reason about being human and to ask questions about our world.Humanities students build skills in writing and critical reading. The Humanities develop informed and critical citizens.Without the Humanities democracy will not flourish.The value of the Humanities is more often in the questions posed than the answers found; Humanistic study is not formulaic.THE CRITICS SAY… Critics accuse the Humanities of lacking cultural or economic relevance.They saythe Humanities have no purpose. They say our academic work is inaccessible to the public. They say that Humanities students are not immediately employable.They say in times of economic recessionresources should not be spent on the study of the human condition. They saythe Humanities are in crisis. BUT THE EVIDENCE SHOWS…A 2012 survey of 652 U.S. born Chief Executive Officers and Heads of Product Engineering showed almost 60% had degrees in the Humanities.  31% had a Science and Technology background54%of all qualifications achieved each year are in the Humanities and Social Sciences.The total annual economic benefit to the UK from non-UK Arts and Humanities students is approximately£2.7 billion per yearThese sectors represent some of the fastest growing areas within the economyOn average Humanities graduates have a comparable employment rate to graduates with other degreesNational EmploymentDespite these benefits, in the USA in 2010, just 0.45%of federal research money went to the HumanitiesCULTURE IS IMPORTANT…of people believe that it is important in creating jobs and boosting the economyThese concepts are edited from a crowdsourced list generated at http://www.allourideas.org/4Humanities.Vivek Wadhwa (2011) “Silicon Valley needs Humanities students”, Washington Post. New College of the Humanities (2011), “A Case for the Humanities”.British Academy (2008), “Punching our weight: the Humanities and social sciences in public policy making”.The Arts and Humanities Research Council (2009), "Leading the world: The economic impact of UK arts and Humanities research".CIRCA (2013), “Preparing for Advocacy”. http://circa.cs.ualberta.ca/index.php/CIRCA:Preparing_for_AdvocacyJeffrey Simpson, (2012). “A university degree’s value is incontestable” Globe and Mail, July 20th.AAC&U and Hart Research Associates (2010), “Raising the Bar: Employers’  Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn”.Toby Miller,  (2011) ‘Dilemma of blowing up the Humanities’, The Australian (Higher Ed).British Academy (2010), "Past, Present and Future. The Public Value of the Humanities and Social Sciences".Mulkerne and Graham (2011), “Labour Market Intelligence on Languages and Intercultural Skills in Higher Education”European Commission (2013), “Research and Innovation FP7 Budgets”, http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp7/index_en.cfm?pg=budgetWHAT THE HUMANITIES DOThe Humanities are about what it is to be human.A study of 100 FTSE companies’ CEOs showed that34%studied the arts, Humanities and Social Sciences,In 2011, of the 650 UK Members of Parliament65%had an Arts, Humanities or Social Science degree20%unknown10%had a scientific qualification5%had a vocational degreeTheMATTER!The Humanities are academic disciplines that seek to understand and interpret the human experience, from individuals to entire cultures, engaging in the discovery, preservation, and communication of the past and present record to enable a deeper understanding of contemporary society.The Humanities encompass literature, classics, ancient and modern languages, history, philoso-phy, media studies, the fine and performing arts, and other related subjects.  It can be a challenge to show the benefits the Humanities bring: in this infographic we gather available evidence to show the Humanities matter!HumanitiesOver two thirds of Humanities and Social Science graduates enter the private sector, primarily the financial and business sectors, followed by wholesaling and retailing.History graduates employmentof graduates in Theology and Religious Studies employed94.6%96.4%94.4%2006 Canadian CensusIn 2008 – the year the recession hit – those who were employed in Canada were:95% of Engineering graduates 94% of Health Workers94% of Graduates of fine and applied arts programs91%of Humanities and Social Science graduates90%of those with only a high-school diploma84.1%of those with only “some” high school1want effective oral and written communicationwant critical thinking and analytical reasoningwant employees to analyze and solve complex problemswanted employees to connect choices to ethical decisions.Skills of Humanities students are in demand from employers: of people think their lives are richer for having the opportunity to visit or view the historic environment76% 88%55%50%25%Every year They fostersocial justice and equalityreveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual, and intellectual sense of the world. They teach empathy.LANGUAGES, HISTORIES, & CULTURES. Understanding others in the world through their&?????????One only needs to turn on the news to see that we need the skills and knowledge of the humanities in:understanding other cultures, being able to communicate effectively, realising the ramifications of history, and analysing human behaviour. The Humanities are more important to global society than ever£45bn89% 81% 75% 75%Between 2007 and 2013, EuropeanCommission Funding to the SocialSciences and Humanities was just  1.06%of their total research budget of£55.51 bn4Humanities.orgThe Humanities are about discovery:discover the Humanities!of people read works of fiction, including novels, plays and short storiesbuy a novel, play or poetry for themselvesread biographiesWe need to understand the role culture plays in people's lives: this is the role of the Humanities. 6.5% read poetry4% write poetryData collected by @melissaterras with assistance from @ernestopriego and the @4hum collective: @alanyliu, @GeoffRockwell, @sgsinclair, Christine Hensler, and @lindsaycthomas.This work is licensed under a Creative CommonsAttribution 3.0 Unported LicenseHow to cite this infographic: Terras, M., Priego, E., Liu, A., Rockwell, G., Sinclair, S., Hensler, C., and Thomas, L. (2013). “The Humanities Matter!” Infographic, 4humanities.org/infographic. It has been estimated that the economic importance of UK universities amounts to The underinvestment in language skills costs theUK economy a minimum of £9bn annuallyDo you know any more statistics about the Humanities? Please do contact us at contact@4Humanities.org

The Humanities Matter!

The Humanities Matter!

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