|
Introduction
Scholarly research is an important—perhaps the most important —part of the humanities
infrastructure not only because it is critical to the vitality of this field in
both educational settings and society at large but also because scholarship in specific
humanities disciplines can have significant bearing on national and international
issues. Many years ago, when scholars were focusing on the languages, the societies,
and the historic tensions of the Middle East, few predicted how crucial these areas
of inquiry would become in the early 21st century. Humanities research that inquires
into other cultures, such as those of China, for example, is equally critical in
the context of a global economy and in the creation of an educated American citizenry.
Meanwhile, such research and its dissemination have also always been indispensable
elements in the civic culture of the United States and to the fostering of a well-informed
and participatory electorate. For all of its importance, however, scholarly research
in the humanities does not usually make the front pages of newspapers, and while
research in the natural and social sciences can often have direct and immediate
relevance to public policy, applications for humanities research tend to be less
obvious and less specific. As a result, the humanities can be overlooked in the
competition for funding.
Such funding as humanities research and other humanities-related activities do receive
is, in turn, difficult to quantify. Equally challenging is any attempt to arrive
at a comprehensive and detailed assessment of the sources of this funding, partly
because they are so varied and dispersed. Government funding for humanities research
and other activities flows from myriad agencies and programs at the federal, state,
and local levels, while private funding is distributed by thousands of foundations
and other not-for-profit organizations that play a crucial role in sustaining important
areas of humanities research and ensuring the dissemination of humanities knowledge.
This part of the Humanities Indicators begins by describing public funding for humanities
agencies and higher education and then goes on to estimate the extent of private
investment in the humanities. The final section seeks to give some indication of
the funding and other resources dedicated to supporting scholarly research in the
humanities, as well as providing some gauge of the extent of scholarly publication
in this field.
|