Annual Report

We have been hearing for some years now about a crisis in the humanities. There has been much talk, for example, about the economic value of arts degrees and the prospects for graduates from BA programs. But in fact studies in both the US and Canada have shown that humanities graduates do very well in terms of employment and moreover, they report higher job satisfaction than graduates from many other fields. Equally importantly, we have always seen at the CIH that there is a real interest in the humanities both inside and outside the university. And further, there is a widespread appreciation for humanities perspectives on topics such as gene editing, energy transition, and space exploration: topics which might seem beyond the purview of a traditional humanities approach but all of which were addressed last year at the CIH. I would argue that the humanities perspective is, if anything, even more vital in the dawning age of AI, where too many people are ignoring the "artificial" in "artificial intelligence": the humanities teach us to think and to read critically, activities which cannot be outsourced to algorithms that offer simulations of thought rather than real thinking.

While the talk of a crisis in the humanities cannot be ignored, there is ample evidence that it is largely based on misperceptions. The humanities are vital, the perspectives they offer are crucial, and at least in our experience, they are much valued by the community at large. We hope that you'll enjoy reading about our activities in this year's Annual Report, and that you'll find the time to join in our conversations in the coming year.