The Centre for Modern Thought would like to use its “Forum” as a portal for discussion and for the dissemination of information about contemporary developments bearing on the humanities and their institutional conditions. Cutbacks, reorganizations and closures (even an occasional item of good news) are reported widely by informal networks. Some events garner powerful flows of attention, others pass almost without significant mention. Consequently, the larger picture, on either a national or international level, is difficult to grasp. There are strong signs that the humanities are not faring well in the wake of the great recession. But the lines of struggle—economic, socio-political, philosophical—are not easily defined in a precise manner in the context of the environing socio-economic conditions. Therefore, we hope to open our website to sources of information regarding recent developments in the institutions of the humanities, and we would like to offer a forum for discussion. We invite those interested to submit any information or insights on contemporary events they would like to share (if only in the form of links), and we will seek to nourish this discussion by calling for commentary in the form of reasoned statements and essays. We would like to monitor and evaluate the state of the humanities in the contemporary world, and contribute to the ongoing task of defining their possible futures. How are we to understand our need for the humanities in the context of fundamental change in the very idea of the university, profound changes in digital culture, and pressures deriving from the ever-more stringent technical organization of society? What should be defended and what innovation should be considered? What new articulations are occurring or might be envisioned?
The Forum will therefore offer a blog space for the posting of news and quick response, a page for links, and a site for sustained discussion (where longer statements, essays, and exchanges can be posted). All serious contributions will be welcome and we urge all those interested to signal their engagement with this question by posting relevant information and thoughts.
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With an account, posts can be made to the CMT forums:
The State of the Humanities in the Academy and Beyond has three forums
- Facts and Events
- Please post information about recent developments and forthcoming events relating to state of the humanities
- Documents and discussion
- Documents, papers, and discussions relating to the state of the humanities
- Links
- For all links which may be off interest on this topic.
To post information, please click 'post a new forum topic' or reply within a thread.
