According to the prevailing narrative, the state of the humanities is dire. State legislators and far-right journalists attack these degrees from ideological angles, while others claim they lack vocational relevance. The numbers don\u2019t lie: Bachelor\u2019s degrees awarded in the humanities declined nearly 16 percent between 2012 and 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, across the country, there are colleges where these departments are experiencing enrollment growth. Statistics around unemployment also show that the dire narrative around employment for these majors is just that, a narrative, as the unemployment rate for humanities majors is similar to other college graduates (around 3 percent). In other words, the humanities may simply have a marketing problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Join The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em> and its Deputy Managing Editor, Ian Wilhelm, on Wednesday, October 2, at 2 p.m. ET for a virtual forum exploring the actual state of the humanities. Experts will offer tips and advice to help strengthen messaging, modernize course offerings, and revive interest in the humanities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n