For 16 years, the Humanities Indicators (HI), has provided researchers, policymakers, universities, journalists, and engaged citizens giving them the tools to answer basic questions about the state of the field and its influence on American society. The Indicators fill a once persistent gap in data about the humanities, providing a set of reliable and regularly updated indicators charting key trends in the field.
The 331 indicators that compose the Humanities Indicators overall draw on 77 high-quality data sets produced by 31 different entities. The HI is a comprehensive resource that spans K-12 and higher education, employment, the humanities funding landscape, and the role of the humanities in Americans’ everyday lives. While the HI makes extensive use of existing data, the project also generates new data through original research projects such as surveys of humanities department chairs at the nation’s universities and a study of public attitudes toward the field.
The HI is a nationally recognized as a source of nonpartisan information that those looking to report on the state of the humanities can—and consistently do—rely on. The following publications use HI data to provide new insights into humanities engagement, the role of community college in liberal education, the future of museums, and the return on investment for humanities majors. They represent but a small sample of the hundreds of citations of HI work that have amassed over the previous few years alone, demonstrating both the reach and relevance of the data produced by the Humanities Indicators:
- Flagship Public Universities Likely to Cut More Humanities, Staff—Especially in Rural States, Governing
A trusted source of news and analysis for people working in public agencies, Governing references the HI’s state profiles on employment outcomes for humanities majors in their reporting on the elimination of humanities programs at flagship public universities in rural states. The article features a US map that indicates for each state the share of full-time workers humanities graduates represent.
- Museums Can Renew America Through Semiquincentennial, American Alliance of Museums
Also using a key finding from Humanities in American Life, specifically that the term “history” is viewed favorably by both self-described liberals and conservatives, the American Alliance of Museums argues for the role of museums in fostering civic participation and public engagement with the nation’s history.
Community College is the Future of Liberal Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education, a respected news service covering academia in the United States for college and university faculty and administrators, regularly references HI data. This article uses HI data on associate’s degrees in the humanities to argue that leaders in higher education and philanthropy should invest more in community colleges as a means of supporting liberal arts education. The article is online.
“Return on Investment” is a Red Herring, PEN America
In writing about the connection between the “return on investment” narrative in higher education and censorship, PEN America, long-time advocates for raising awareness for the protection of free speech in the United States, makes use of HI data on the employment status of humanities majors as compared to majors from other fields. The PEN commentary is online.- Humanities Unbound, Harmony Labs
Harmony Labs, an interdisciplinary media research lab, leverages the HI’s Humanities in American Life study, in combination with data collected from YouTube and various news sources, to better understand the relationship between media narratives about the humanities and how people relate to and practice the humanities in everyday life.
The Humanities Indicators focus on description and diagnosis, providing information that illuminates the condition and impact of the humanities in many different aspects of American life, helping students, parents, educational institutions, local governments, and others make important decisions on everything from what college major to pick to what policies can be enacted to protect the humanities at colleges and universities. It provides an empirical foundation for important conversations around the past, present, and future of the nation’s humanities enterprise.