Humanities Forward
Opportunity, Innovation, Policy in the 21st Century
Will be published approx. on 28. July 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-80596-744-6 (ISBN)
Description
An Open Access edition will be available on publication on the Liverpool University Press website, thanks to funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
Humanities Forward brings together scholars and practitioners who have developed innovative responses to the challenges facing the Humanities. International, interdisciplinary, and intergenerational, their contributions illuminate, in diverse ways, the impact, value, and societal relevance of the Humanities in the 21st century. There is a need for researchers to communicate the value of what they do, and there is a need for policymakers to recognize the immense contributions, individual and societal, made by the Humanities. As one of the book's contributors puts it, "it is not trivial to consider the sum of human happiness that is owed solely to the continued existence of humanities subjects."
This book offers a roadmap for both researchers and public stakeholders, showcasing best practices across a wide range of disciplines. Challenging provocations sit side by side with insightful analysis, asking the reader to be part of a collective conversation. Whether in Europe, South America, or Oceania (and beyond), this volume offers fresh perspectives from academics, publishers, research funders, and schoolteachers. Together, they articulate what the Humanities stand for, on their own terms.
Humanities Forward brings together scholars and practitioners who have developed innovative responses to the challenges facing the Humanities. International, interdisciplinary, and intergenerational, their contributions illuminate, in diverse ways, the impact, value, and societal relevance of the Humanities in the 21st century. There is a need for researchers to communicate the value of what they do, and there is a need for policymakers to recognize the immense contributions, individual and societal, made by the Humanities. As one of the book's contributors puts it, "it is not trivial to consider the sum of human happiness that is owed solely to the continued existence of humanities subjects."
This book offers a roadmap for both researchers and public stakeholders, showcasing best practices across a wide range of disciplines. Challenging provocations sit side by side with insightful analysis, asking the reader to be part of a collective conversation. Whether in Europe, South America, or Oceania (and beyond), this volume offers fresh perspectives from academics, publishers, research funders, and schoolteachers. Together, they articulate what the Humanities stand for, on their own terms.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Liverpool
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
6 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-80596-744-6 (9781805967446)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Arlene Holmes-Henderson MBE is Professor of Classics Education and Public Policy at Durham University. She specialises in the teaching and learning of classical subjects and regularly provides expert advice to international governments on curriculum and assessment design. She is founding director of Durham's Centre for Classics Education Research and Engagements (CERES) and is co-director of the Advocating Classics Education project. Stephan Nitu is a Junior Research Associate in the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford. Formerly an Ertegun Scholar and Lincoln-Kingsgate Scholar, his recently completed PhD project which offers a new interpretation of the Classical Athenian economy. He has presented at multiple international conferences on the necessity of prioritizing human flourishing-in research, practice, and teaching, on the humanities and beyond.
Content
Foreword: Skepticism and the Humanities
Christopher Smith
PART I: WHY THE HUMANITIES?
Introduction: Summoning the Humanities
Stephan Nitu and Arlene Holmes-Henderson
VALUATION AND APPLICATION
Value Judgements: Charting the Discourse on Value in the Humanities
Stephan Nitu
Values-Based Scholarly Communication Practices: Collaboration and Field-Building in the Public Humanities
Daniel Fisher-Livne, Younger Oliver, and Kath Burton
The Irene Project: Classical Literature for the Promotion of Peace and Reconciliation in the Classroom
Ronald Forero-Alvarez, Rafael D. Uribe-Neira, Deisy Amapola Vasquez-Guerrero, Juan Gabriel Santamaria-Perez, Martin Dinter, Jesus David Girado-Sierra, and Lucio Martin Forero-Alvarez
Talking About Trees: The Paradox of the Environmental Humanities
Conor Brennan
The Uses of Use-less Indigenous Research
Alice Te Punga Somerville
PRESENCE AND POLICY
'If a Classicist Can Engage with Policymakers, then Anyone Can!' Reflections on a Steep Learning Curve in Whitehall
Arlene Holmes-Henderson
Institutional Impact in the Policy Environment: the Role of the British Academy
Hetan Shah
Global Crisis and Humanistic Inquiry: a View from the United States
Joy Connolly
Humanities Research Seen from a European Network Perspective
Charles Giry-Deloison and Wojciech Sowa
Investing in the Young
Stephanie Oade
Multilingualism in the UK: from Public Policy to Public Opinion
Wendy Ayres-Bennett
Language Teaching Needs Language Science: A manifesto for Linguistics and Language Teaching in the United Kingdom
Michelle Sheehan, Jonathan Kasstan, Norma Schifano, Sascha Stollhans, Anna Havinga, Alice Corr
PART II: WHY FORWARD?
INNOVATION AND FRAMEWORKS
Thoughtful Interdisciplinary Thinking - The Future Is Now
Tomas Lally
Humanities Publishing in 2046: Hopes and How We Might Realise Them
Louis Coiffait-Gunn
River Song Praxis: Reimagining the Humanities through Indigenous Creative Arts
Ali Gumillya Baker, Natalie Harkin, Faye Rosas Blanch, Simone Ulalka Tur, Katerina Teaiwa, Lou Bennett, Romaine Moreton
India and the Global Future of the Humanities
Alex Kostova
Syennesis to Aristotle, 2400 Years on: Medicine, Machine Learning, and the Future of Humanities Research
Jenny Vo-Phamhi and Katherine Benjamin
Literature Pedagogy in the Digitalized Classroom: Observations from Hong Kong
Flora Ka Yu Mak
The Role of the Arts and Humanities in Thinking about Artificial Intelligence (AI)
John Tasioulas
WELLBEING AND HUMANITY
The Primacy of Love: Toward a Renewed Understanding of Human Nature and Critique in the Humanities
Sarah Thomas
The Case for Delight in the Humanities: a View from Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Frazer MacDiarmid
"We are awake in the gone forest": Humanities for Land Justice
Anna Sims Bartel
Conclusion Roundtable: Humanities Forward
Stephan Nitu in conversation with Daniel Grimley, Gervase Rosser, Emily Troscianko, Elleke Boehmer, and Arlene Holmes-Henderson
Christopher Smith
PART I: WHY THE HUMANITIES?
Introduction: Summoning the Humanities
Stephan Nitu and Arlene Holmes-Henderson
VALUATION AND APPLICATION
Value Judgements: Charting the Discourse on Value in the Humanities
Stephan Nitu
Values-Based Scholarly Communication Practices: Collaboration and Field-Building in the Public Humanities
Daniel Fisher-Livne, Younger Oliver, and Kath Burton
The Irene Project: Classical Literature for the Promotion of Peace and Reconciliation in the Classroom
Ronald Forero-Alvarez, Rafael D. Uribe-Neira, Deisy Amapola Vasquez-Guerrero, Juan Gabriel Santamaria-Perez, Martin Dinter, Jesus David Girado-Sierra, and Lucio Martin Forero-Alvarez
Talking About Trees: The Paradox of the Environmental Humanities
Conor Brennan
The Uses of Use-less Indigenous Research
Alice Te Punga Somerville
PRESENCE AND POLICY
'If a Classicist Can Engage with Policymakers, then Anyone Can!' Reflections on a Steep Learning Curve in Whitehall
Arlene Holmes-Henderson
Institutional Impact in the Policy Environment: the Role of the British Academy
Hetan Shah
Global Crisis and Humanistic Inquiry: a View from the United States
Joy Connolly
Humanities Research Seen from a European Network Perspective
Charles Giry-Deloison and Wojciech Sowa
Investing in the Young
Stephanie Oade
Multilingualism in the UK: from Public Policy to Public Opinion
Wendy Ayres-Bennett
Language Teaching Needs Language Science: A manifesto for Linguistics and Language Teaching in the United Kingdom
Michelle Sheehan, Jonathan Kasstan, Norma Schifano, Sascha Stollhans, Anna Havinga, Alice Corr
PART II: WHY FORWARD?
INNOVATION AND FRAMEWORKS
Thoughtful Interdisciplinary Thinking - The Future Is Now
Tomas Lally
Humanities Publishing in 2046: Hopes and How We Might Realise Them
Louis Coiffait-Gunn
River Song Praxis: Reimagining the Humanities through Indigenous Creative Arts
Ali Gumillya Baker, Natalie Harkin, Faye Rosas Blanch, Simone Ulalka Tur, Katerina Teaiwa, Lou Bennett, Romaine Moreton
India and the Global Future of the Humanities
Alex Kostova
Syennesis to Aristotle, 2400 Years on: Medicine, Machine Learning, and the Future of Humanities Research
Jenny Vo-Phamhi and Katherine Benjamin
Literature Pedagogy in the Digitalized Classroom: Observations from Hong Kong
Flora Ka Yu Mak
The Role of the Arts and Humanities in Thinking about Artificial Intelligence (AI)
John Tasioulas
WELLBEING AND HUMANITY
The Primacy of Love: Toward a Renewed Understanding of Human Nature and Critique in the Humanities
Sarah Thomas
The Case for Delight in the Humanities: a View from Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Frazer MacDiarmid
"We are awake in the gone forest": Humanities for Land Justice
Anna Sims Bartel
Conclusion Roundtable: Humanities Forward
Stephan Nitu in conversation with Daniel Grimley, Gervase Rosser, Emily Troscianko, Elleke Boehmer, and Arlene Holmes-Henderson