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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Slides for my talk at St. John's University on the value of humanities skills in the workforce are now available at bit.ly/4hTHhnS (LinkedIn). Happy to share if you would like the original slide deck.

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Thanks to Jennifer McNabb and Jess Cruz for two terrific days at UNI talking to faculty and students, and an opportunity to learn more about the terrific new Humanities Hub program here.

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Slides for my talk at Coastal Carolina are now posted at bit.ly/4h74zoJ (on LinkedIn). If you can't download, or just want the PowerPoint version, please don't hesitate to ask.

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Grateful to the Baker Nord Institute for hosting a terrific discussion about the state of the humanities, and Maysan Haydar for a great conversation with her Public Humanities class!

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The decline in #humanities bachelor's degrees slowed substantially in 2025 (bit.ly/4yh0sgK), but a separate analysis of enrolled majors (pictured below) indicates further losses ahead, with the pace of decline accelerating since the pandemic (bit.ly/3UtRqyC).

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I feel obliged to note that this is not the first such program, as there are also DH BA programs at Centenary College, Cleveland State, and Syracuse (though the latter was recently cut), while five others are recorded as awarding BA degrees in the subject.

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

The "evidence" on the problems in history (to supplement the evidence-free Vanderbilt report), now available at bit.ly/3UV1mkC

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Notable observation from a paper read at the 1946 AHA annual meeting. Just imagine how hard it will be to keep up with the scholarly literature when it is freed from the constraints of print! (Full paper at bit.ly/4wledtE.)

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

"While the administration insists that it wants Americans to engage more deeply with their history, it announced just 10 days ago that it is simultaneously moving to close National Archives facilities in San Bruno, California, and Chicago, Illinois." bit.ly/4vW0wBW

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

"In our analysis of how AI presents historical information, systematic problems were found, such as fabricated content, chronological distortions, bias through data prevalence, and language manipulation vulnerabilities." bit.ly/4fHqZhk

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

"Within this widespread adoption of artificial intelligence... it is used by at least half of all students, except #humanities and natural sciences majors" bit.ly/3RWKM2t

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

"If you’ve had a hunch that AI-related jobs have been taking up more room in PhilJobs, you’re right." bit.ly/4emjN96

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Humanities students "are less likely to say college is worth the cost (30%) compared to STEM (34%) and business students (39%). However, humanities majors (53%) are also more likely...to say that college is for everyone, regardless of their class or economic background." bit.ly/438Aeje

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

"One of the most common verbs to appear across all definitions of the #humanities is understand... often paired with verbs like define, appreciate, express, interpret, evaluate, and connect." bit.ly/4fSZ3Hl

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

For those who’ve wondered what the UFC stage looks like from the other side of the White House.

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Harvard: "In Arts and Humanities courses, roughly 78 percent of students received A’s last year. In Social Sciences, the figure was 62 percent. In the Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, A’s made up 57 percent and 56 percent, respectively." bit.ly/4uEhmEV

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

“A handful of humanities programs, like classics and music, saw an increase in enrollment. Digital arts saw the most consistent growth” bit.ly/4ab86j7

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

"recent estimates of the number of history faculty at two- and four-year institutions by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows a decline of 16 percent from 2015 to 2024, and an analysis of full-time faculty listed in the AHA’s Directory of History Departments shows a decline of 13 percent"

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

New: “The evidence is now clear: History departments are shrinking.” bit.ly/3RhjGCY

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

If you would like a free print copy (or copies—up to five) of the new report on humanities departments (as well as a forthcoming research brief on "Understanding the Public Humanities Through the State Humanities Councils"), please submit your request at bit.ly/4dmgSfc.

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

"The study of history remains as valuable and relevant as ever. The discipline develops precisely the kind of durable skills that employers seek and that civic life demands, among them critical thinking, communication, creativity, and the ability to analyze complex problems" bit.ly/4evRCFq

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Interesting new Census Bureau data shows that half of people with BA degrees think AI tools make them more productive, but almost a third are worried about AI's impact on their careers. bit.ly/4tpRSts

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

If I am reading this right, they think about 8% of undergrad humanities programs will fail under the regulation, and 17% of the grad programs.

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Proposed rule to cut federal student loan support: "students in Religious Studies programs, #Humanities/Liberal Arts programs, Education programs, Drama programs, and Music programs will be most impacted" bit.ly/4cwFWzt

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Within the humanities, almost every discipline awarded fewer degrees in 2024 than 12 years earlier (Indicator II-03d). The largest proportional drops in degrees awarded occurred in religious studies (down 59%)"

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

New today: "In 2024, the nation’s colleges and universities awarded 165,489 bachelor’s degrees in the #humanities—the smallest number of degrees awarded since 1991 and 30% below the recent high-water mark in 2012" bit.ly/4sDtLqM

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Belt tightening for the humanities, even at Yale: bit.ly/41gHkkP

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

"less than half of Americans used artificial intelligence tools (AI) to perform each of a variety of common tasks, but a substantial minority used AI for some #humanities-related tasks" bit.ly/3Ojb6lX

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

"The Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Budget proposes to eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and provides $38 million to conduct an orderly shutdown of the Agency." bit.ly/41M4pvK

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

"Within this widespread adoption of artificial intelligence... it is used by at least half of all students, except #humanities and natural sciences majors. " bit.ly/41dbzcd

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

The denominator seems relevant here (as total humanities funding is shown in the green line bouncing along the bottom of the figure): bit.ly/3PuK77h

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

The Academy at the 2026 National Humanities Alliance meeting.

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Amusing from a 1989 book on "the computer revolution": "Anyone who reads newspapers and magazines these days has heard the term "Artificial Intelligence." It inspires awe in the business community and concern or puzzlement in most other places." Plus ça change...

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Just 4% of Americans account for nearly half the books read in the U.S.: bit.ly/4abRXZV

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

"some candidates had hoped that the job market would improve, and so prolonged their PhD or taken temporary positions. The bet has gone bad, building up a huge mass of applicants chasing not very many positions." bit.ly/4pHfPut

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Visit the Humanities Indicators booth at #mla2026 for findings from our recent survey of academic humanities departments. @modernlanguage.bsky.social #exhibitevents

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

My colleague, Carolyn Fuqua, will be representing the Indicators at MLA. Join her today at "Navigating the Data Crisis: Finding Humanities Data to Advocate for Your Program or Institution." 3:30, 802B @modernlanguage.bsky.social #mla26

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

In history, majors fell by 56% from 1971 to 1980, but I found only one small item in the AHA annual reports noting that fact, in a statement about "increasing the attractiveness of undergraduate study in history" in 1973: bit.ly/3MG71qO

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

We are thinking about doing a survey of the public about how often they use AI to perform various humanistic activities (writing, "reading," etc.) juxtaposed with some STEM activities (math, programming). I welcome thoughts and suggestions on anything that might be missing below:

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

"the humanities can survive. In fact, they can thrive. Humanities should be indispensable to 21st-century higher education, and data shows that they’re certainly crucial to the workforce.": bit.ly/3W84hE7

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Within the humanities, area studies and religion have had the biggest drops since 2012 (both down more than 55%), but the modern languages, English, classical studies, and history are all down more than 40% from recent highs. You can see how your disciplines is doing at bit.ly/47ilh0F.

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Unfortunately, new degree data for 2024 is out, and offers more bad news for the #humanities. Humanities bachelor's degrees fell 2.1% from the year before, and the field fell to just 8.4% of the total (from almost 15% twenty years earlier). bit.ly/46K1GX4

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

The reading skills of 12th graders continue to decline: bit.ly/47BPA3c

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

We are revising our definition of the humanities (the most popular page on the Indicators) to try to capture all of the aspects we study. (This would precede the catalog of specific academic disciplines on the current page: bit.ly/4lxDGKN). I'm curious what folks might think of the following:

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Meanwhile, at Union Station…. I felt safer before the little green men appeared.

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Interesting new study about the aspirations of teens, and the mix of things they want out of their studies in college: bit.ly/46dnavJ

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

AEI arguing that NEH funding should continue because otherwise lefty foundations will step in to support all that bad humanities stuff. bit.ly/4loZ3yI 🤔

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

BBB also included $40 million for the Garden of Heroes (bit.ly/45Y0DCX).

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Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

"The FY 2026 Budget proposes to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts. Toward this end, the FY 2026 Budget provides $29.0 million to begin the orderly closure of the agency." bit.ly/4kqqUOC

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