Schools
Library, UC Riverside Seek to Invigorate Interest in Humanities
Humanities professors argue that students need a well-rounded education -- not just professional knowledge -- to make them informed citizens
UC Riverside and the renowned Huntington Library will collaborate on a program to broaden humanities-related research as the field struggles to compete with surging interest in math, science and technology courses, it was announced.
“This is a regional idea with national implications,” said Laura Skandera Trombley, president of the Huntington. “The Huntington is one of only a few cultural institutions focused wholly on humanities research, and we believe that it is not only our mission, but our responsibility to take action to support humanities scholars going forward.”
The Pasadena-based library is underwriting a two-year pilot project that will support two UCR scholars’ research using Huntington’s vast collection of American and British historical records, as well as archives covering art and science. Total funding, which will cover the researchers’ salaries, could top $280,000, according to UCR spokeswoman Bettye Miller.
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UCR Executive Vice Chancellor Paul D’Anieri said the goal of the Huntington-UC Program for the Advancement of the Humanities is for professors to acquire extensive knowledge of subjects that they can in turn take into classrooms and excite students about critical examination and inquiry into business practices, ethics, government and culture.
“This collaboration between UC Riverside and the Huntington will help our faculty and students work more closely with one of the world’s premier collections in the arts and humanities,” D’Anieri said. “The agreement speaks to our commitment to advancing research in the arts and humanities, and to working closely with institutions throughout our community.”
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According to supporters, humanities course work has been flagging in the face of a growing emphasis at public universities on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Humanities professors argue that students need a well-rounded education -- not just professional knowledge -- to make them informed citizens.
- --City News Service, photo courtesy of UC Riverside
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