A 13th century bishop’s theory about the formation of the universe has intriguing parallels with the theory of multiple universes. This was uncovered by the the Ordered Universe project at Durham University…
The academic humanities are too removed from reality.
Frannyanne/Shutterstock
If we look at the major trends in higher education, the cause for what many are calling the “crisis of the humanities” becomes clear. The total number of UK students increased by 13.5% between 2003–04…
‘An unexamined life is not worthy of a human being’: Socrates.
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This is a revised excerpt of a talk given to students at the Inaugural Australian Youth Humanities Forum, hosted at the University of Melbourne’s Parkville campus. After two days at this fine conference…
Yeah that’s right: English major with philosophy. Deal with it.
whatleydude
Humans, as a species, are around 200,000 years old. Compared to the age of the universe we’re clearly infants but compared to the internet, we’re pretty old and compared to social media, which is still…
Jarman in the 60s, seeing things differently.
Ray Dean/KCL
It is 20 years since the AIDS-related death of Derek Jarman, filmmaker, painter, author, gardener – and a crucial voice in gay politics in Britain. And when you look at his work today, two decades can…
Heads of Australian university English departments are set to advocate for their discipline.
oldtasty
Last month, heads of English departments in universities across Australia formed a new peak body to advocate for the discipline of English. In part, the Australian University Heads of English (AUHE) group…
Resources are dwindling and the focus lies firmly on utility.
@boetter
The Coalition’s pre-election condemnation of ARC research funding in certain areas of the arts as “ridiculous” and a waste of taxpayer dollars has left those of us working in this field feeling under pressure…
Coalition MP Jamie Briggs doesn’t want the ARC funding ‘interesting thought bubbles’.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The Coalition - among others - have been recently taking aim at the worth of certain Australian Research Council (ARC)-funded projects. Verbal jousting around the value of philosophy as a humanities discipline…
The humanities are in trouble - but what can be done about it?
Humanities image from www.shutterstock.com
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal titled Humanities Fall From Favour reveals a further escalation in the crisis affecting the humanities. Harvard University, “a standard-bearer of American letters…
The grass is green for Oxford humanities graduates.
kdewhunter
A study of 11,000 alumni from the University of Oxford has shown that humanities graduates went on to work in the UK’s major growth sectors. The Oxford study can’t tell us much about the fate of graduates…
Despite myths to the contrary, humanities graduates can enjoy their passions and look forward to job opportunities too.
Student image from www.shutterstock.com
As a vice chancellor, I conducted many graduation ceremonies and welcomed scores of proud graduates to the fellowship of educated men and women. One regular feature of these ceremonies was a queue of students…
The environment is more than a passive background to human dramas.
George Lenard
Over the past couple of decades, India’s vultures have been all but wiped out. They have been poisoned by a veterinary drug given to cattle whose carcasses they then eat. While medicinal for cattle, the…
La Trobe’s Vice-Chancellor John Dewar defends his cuts to the humanities program.
ABC News
On Sunday, La Trobe University held its most successful Open Day ever, with more than 19,000 visitors. But the day was disrupted by student protests against recently announced changes to our Faculty of…
David Herbert Lawrence dived deep into the psychology of the Australian landscape in Kangaroo.
Flickr/Duncan~
Welcome to the first essay in our series on how the Australian landscape has been described in literature. We start with an internationally recognised D. H. Lawrence scholar, Christopher Pollnitz, writing…
Executive Director, Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences; Honorary Senior Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne