Humanities World Report 2015

This book is open access under a CC BY license.
The first of its kind, this 'Report' gives an overview of the humanities worldwide. Published as an Open Access title and based on an extensive literature review and enlightening interviews conducted with 90 humanities scholars across 40 countries, the book offers a first step in attempting to assess the state of the humanities globally. Its topics include the nature and value of the humanities, the challenge of globalisation, the opportunities offered by the digital humanities, variations in funding patterns around the world, and the interaction between humanities and society. Despite the stereotypical view of humanists as scholars locked away in their ivory towers, the picture that emerges from this report is that they are deeply committed to the social value of their work and appreciate the long-term importance it has for addressing global challenges. The report will be of interest not only to researchers and students in the humanities themselves, but also to administrators and funders.

Poul Holm is Professor of Humanities at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and President of the European Consortium of Humanities Institutes and Centres. In the past he has been Academic Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub, Rector (President) of the University of Roskilde, Chairman of the European Research Network of Research Councils for the Humanities (ERCH, now HERA) and Professor of Maritime History at the University of Southern Denmark.


Arne Jarrick is Professor of History at Stockholm University, Sweden and Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. His previous publications include Only Human: Studies in the History of Conceptions of Man (2000).

Dominic Scott is Professor in the Philosophy Department at the University of Virginia, USA. He was previously Senior Lecturer at Cambridge University, where he set up the Forum for Philosophy in Business with Alex Oliver. His previous publications include Recollection and Experience (1995), Plato's Meno (2006) and Maieusis: Studies in Ancient Philosophy in Honour of Myles Burnyeat (editor, 2007).