"The Decline of the Humanities," Oct. 29 (W) at 3:30pm

[Daniel Lake]

*The Institute for Ethics in Public Life invites you to join us for "The
Decline of the Humanities," on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 3:30pm in-person or
on Zoom, with special guest Dr. Meg Pearson, Dean of Arts and Sciences at
SUNY Plattsburgh.*

In recent years the humanities have been in decline at colleges and
universities across America. The number of degree completions in Humanities
fields (broadly defined) dropped 24% between 2012 and 2022
<https://www.amacad.org/humanities-indicators/higher-education/bachelors-degrees-humanities>,
and has continued to drop since then. In response to this, or perhaps as
part of it, we are seeing cuts to the Humanities by university leaders
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.chronicle.com/article/theyre-killing-the-humanities-on-purpose&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1761683330787963&usg=AOvVaw2nisZlvzJ-XQ5Ab_7KE4Ct>
?

Various explanations for this phenomenon have been offered including rising
anti-intellectualism
<https://sbstatesman.com/136234/arts/the-decline-of-humanities-majors-examining-trends-in-higher-education-and-cultural-priorities/>,
the perception that they are not career-relevant, lower levels of literacy
<https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/the-elite-college-students-who-cant-read-books/679945/>,
proliferation of AP courses in high school
<https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-the-number-of-college-graduates-in-the-humanities-drops-for-the-eighth-consecutive-year/#:~:text=One%20overlooked%20factor%20working%20against%20the%20humanities,to%20attract%20them%20as%20major%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20Townsend.>,
and post-modernism
<https://heightsforum.org/article/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-humanities/>.
All of this is quite troubling, since when colleges and universities were
first being founded most of the curriculum was what we now call the
humanities.

Why should we care? Are the attacks on the humanities justified by a lack
of return on the investment for the students? Well, that isn't clearly
true. In fact, research
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/the-edge/2025-08-28&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1761683330787963&usg=AOvVaw1Di8FE0H1AlnNFRau6xHbJ>indicates
that students who majored in Liberal Arts are more likely to have jobs with
substantive duties that call on what they learned in college than students
with "practical" majors (engineering and business). While graduates of
preprofessional programs may have higher starting salaries immediately
after graduation, for the most part that premium quickly dissipates. In
addition, a course of study in the humanities has benefits
<https://jeffreynall.substack.com/p/the-ignored-matter-of-values>that
aren't easily reduced to dollars and cents.

Note also that the picture is not completely bleak, since there is an
increasing demand for programs in the Humanities by community college
students
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.chronicle.com/events/virtual/the-growing-role-of-the-humanities-at-community-colleges&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1761683330787963&usg=AOvVaw0UTh_X6jIYVDFi4sMXhGi2>
.

To help us think about what is going on, why we should care, and what we as
faculty, students, and members of the community can do about it we are
joined by Dr. Meg Pearson, Dean of Arts and Sciences at SUNY Plattsburgh.

Please join us in-person in the Thomas Moran Seminar Room (Hawkins 233) or
on Zoom (see below).

Time: Oct 29, 2025 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/82192377612
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/82192377612&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1761683330787963&usg=AOvVaw0CNkWIUe7WHQBMMFc_4uCQ>

Meeting ID: 821 9237 7612


-- 

*Daniel Lake*

(pronouns: he/him/his)

Professor of Political Science

Director, Institute for Ethics in Public Life

Hawkins 149A

101 Broad Street
<https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g>

Plattsburgh, NY 12901
<https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g>

(o) 518-564-5833 <(518)%5645833>

*plattsburgh.edu <http://plattsburgh.edu/>*
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