Humanities for Humans: Clear Thinking on Challenging Issues

Can the academic humanities serve the general public to address some of today’s most critical challenges? This unusual volume builds on the conversation series "Humanities for Humans," curated by Irene Kacandes and funded by the De Gruyter Foundation and the New York nonprofit 1014: Space for Ideas, to answer this question in the affirmative. By asking some North America’s most prominent academics to think aloud in clear language on topics such as racism, migration, inequality, sustainability, building connection and working toward repair of our communities, this book demonstrates the ultimate value of the imagination in solving seemingly intractable problems. The authors define and distinguish. They offer historical context and concrete examples from North and South America, from Europe, from indigenous cultures, from artists and ordinary folk. By also sharing their own personal trajectories, however, these authors simultaneously anchor their insights in practical terms while highlighting the tangible role of the humanities in the everyday world.

Irene Kacandes, The Dartmouth Professor of Comparative Literature and German Studies, emerita, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.