HUMANITIES AT THE CROSSROADS: The Indiana Case Study

Working with a national advisory committee that convened in Indianapolis in April 2012, Indiana Humanities is conducting a case study of the humanities “ecosystem” in our state.

What do we mean by the humanities ecosystem? Social ecology, similar to ecology in the biological sciences, is concerned with the spacing and interdependence of people and institutions. We want to find out about Indiana’s humanities institutions – organizations that focus on history, literature, world languages and cultures, law, ethics and related fields – not only in isolation but also as they interact with each other and together serve the state.

This is a big project, and it will begin with a survey of more than 2,000 organizations. It will also involve face-to-face discussions with smaller groups and communications to share the results.

What do we hope to learn? Much more than we know now about the health and well-being of the humanities in Indiana, how the system works as a whole and how the people of our state participate in humanities activities. We are especially interested in bringing success stories to the surface, as well as identifying places where more resources are needed.

You are invited to help with this effort. Learn more on our Humanities at the Crossroads web page.