News articles and commentary on the place of the humanities in the modern world.
Solve problems, find work, enjoy automation (David Autor, Journal of Economic Perspectives)
Solve problems, find work, enjoy automation: how technology enhances the value of the humanities. From the article: The final section of this paper reflects on how recent and future advances in artificial intelligence and robotics should shape [...]
Therapy and the nurture of nature (Fiona Macdonald, BBC Culture)
Therapy and the nurture of nature: how landscape and the natural world foster (from the Greek, therapeia) wholeness. From the article: For many writers, the act of observing nature has healing properties. Amy Liptrot found it [...]
Good books in Damascus (Mike Thomson, BBC)
Good books in Damascus: how a library can offer a respite from war and civic disintegration. From the article: I ask [Abdulbaset Alahmar], in a besieged town that has only had access to two aid [...]
Poetic Justice (Elisa Gonzalez, The New Yorker)
Poetic justice: how a poet may know the justice system, inside and out. From the article: Reginald Dwayne Betts has wanted to be a lawyer for almost as long as he has wanted to be a poet. [...]
The humanities bring home the (Canadian) bacon (Nikki Wiart, Maclean’s)
The humanities bring home the bacon: a Canadian study looks at the earnings power of humanities and liberal arts graduates. From the article: [Ross Finnie, Director of Ottawa's Education Policy Research Initiative] says more research can help pinpoint [...]
Business people need the liberal arts (Yoni Applebaum, The Atlantic)
Business people need the liberal arts: why more than specialization is required to succeed in business when you're really trying. From the article: Businesses want workers who have “the ability to think, the ability to [...]
Gnomic genomics of happiness (Will Storr, The New Yorker)
Gnomic genomics of happiness: is happiness in our genes, and can our euphoria alter the way our genes express themselves? From the article: The study indicated that people high in eudaemonic happiness were more likely to [...]
STEM without poetry is like life without metaphor (Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy and Uri Wilensky, Hechinger Report)
STEM without poetry is like life without metaphor: how scientists may improve their writing and understanding by reading literature. From the editorial: It is within the lines of poetry that students can discover, celebrate and appreciate [...]
How can we reintegrate knowledge in a simple and useful way? (Charles Eames)
How can we reintegrate knowledge in a simple and useful way? Forty years ago, a leading designer reflects on the challenges created by divisions in higher education. From the article: Unfortunately, universities today are becoming [...]
Caring for the soul: where psychiatry and religion meet (Richard Gallagher, Washington Post)
Caring for the soul: where psychiatry and religion meet. Religion and science collaborate in order to help the spiritually afflicted, and thereby challenge the doctrinal conventions of each. From the editorial: Is it possible to [...]