Are the Humanities Dying and, if so, Why?

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  In Refereed Roundtable (60 min): Table 16: Social Patterns, Problems, and Change in Academia

Abstract

At many US colleges the number of humanities majors has halved. These declines are not unique to selective institutions but are of particular importance because almost one-third of degrees from selective institutions and 15% of degrees from research intensive universities are humanities degrees. Together they constitute half of all undergraduate humanities degrees. Humanists debate whether these declines indicate a ‘crisis’.

Changes in student major choice since 1970 have not been studied by sociologists to the same extent as changes and determinants in educational attainment. As college attendance has increased, majors may be more important in the link between educational attainment and career and earnings. Different majors track into different careers. Employers' perception of the usefulness of different majors has changed. We use fluctuating humanities enrolments as a lens into broader changes in choice over field of study.

There are several difficulties faced in determining the humanities are in crisis. First, there is no generally accepted definition of the humanities. Second, there is a lack of clarity about whether any crisis is about the number humanities degrees (absolute numbers) or the share of degrees (‘market share’). This paper addresses these questions and then examines data covering the last 45 years and more to answer the question “is there a crisis in the humanities”. Specifically, we investigate the role played by economic factors such as the state of the economy and relative earnings of different majors, and changing preferences of undergraduates. We find no evidence to support the claim that increasing numbers of minority students and first generation students caused a decline in humanities enrolment. Student preferences have changed over time with a large increase in the percentage of students who attend college to increase their earnings and for whom financial success is very important.

Authors

• Dennis Ahlburg, Trinity University

• John Huston, Trinity University

• Evan Roberts, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities