Reviewing the case for the humanities: an overview of academic advocacy. From the review:

[P]erhaps more disturbing is the loss of self-confidence that the practitioners of the humanities themselves have displayed. Of course, the rhetoric about a crisis in American higher education is as old as the republic itself, but what makes this present situation different is that the crisis is aimed only at the humanities, not American higher education per se, and that nobody, including the practitioners of the humanities, seem to care except to wallow in self-pity or sneer at society. In short, the scholars of the humanities have failed to persuade students, colleagues, administrators, and the public of their value….

In response to this loss of confidence, the humanities have presented several arguments and coping strategies about their values, although it seems that they have little influence today. The first is an appeal to the tradition or moral values of the humanities themselves: these disciplines are important intellectual endeavors in their own right and therefore should be valued and protected as such. This argument also is made by those who advocate liberal education. However, this argument has little appeal except to those who already agree with it, for clearly other disciplines, such as STEM, also have their own tradition, moral values, and are considered important intellectual endeavors, in addition to providing employment and material and scientific advancement….

The second and more accepted argument about the value of the humanities is that they foster skills critical to being a good human being, worker, and citizen. The study of the humanities leads one to think critically, write clearly, and communicate well. Thus, it is not a surprise that courses in the humanities tend to be overrepresented in university’s general education programs because they supply students the skill set before they specialize in their subjects. But is this really the case? Surely other disciplines, like the STEM fields, can teach students how to think, write, and communicate well – it is difficult to imagine the humanities are somehow uniquely suited for this task. Perhaps the STEM fields can even do it better than the humanities in teaching students these skills. By relying upon the “critical skill” argument, the humanities may inevitably have accelerated their own demise in the university when other and more popular disciplines may be able to accomplish the same thing….

[I]nstead of recycling old arguments, new ones are required if the humanities wish to retain a respectable place in the university. What these might be remains unclear at the moment, but this book [Why the Humanities Matter Today] is an attempt to provide new arguments in the defense of the humanities.

For other posts on the case for the humanities, see here.