Explaining declining enrolments in the humanities: Editorials

A New Yorker article by Nathan Heller about the future of the English degree sparked lively debate this week. Heller writes that enrolment in “English and history at the collegiate level has fallen by a full third” in the United States since 2013 and explained that this trend mirrors a global phenomenon. He identified several theories that could be used to explain the declining figures, including the perception that job prospects are limited for humanities graduates. John Warner responded in an article for Inside Higher Ed, asserting that employers continue to value skills acquired in the humanities. Warner concluded that especially in a world where artificial intelligence gains more prominence, “I think some good old humanities majors who can problem-solve and have a deeper understanding of the world might come in handy.”