How useful are the humanities, and to what end? An historian asks about the ways the humanities are suitable for modern society. From the editorial:

The modern humanities professor—the modern historian—holds together, in a fragile isotope, the ancient liberal art of grammar, the modern ideal of scientific or philosophical investigation, and responsibility for culture…. We must think hard about the implications of the arguments that we use to defend the humanities—including history—today. Skills are not just transferable, they are also devoted to ends. To what ends are we developing in students the skills of close textual analysis and writing? Why do we want our students to become critical thinkers? Do we connect the ends of these skills to higher purposes, or do we defend them in terms of their return on investment? Does critical thinking require the knowledge offered by the fast fraying disciplines that define(d) the humanities? How can we prevent the liberal arts from becoming the neoliberal arts?

h/t Scott Newstok