This week’s edition of Slow Digest was written by C21 Graduate Fellow Jamee N. Pritchard. It is the third essay in a three-part series discussing the essential nature of the humanities.
Don’t miss Parts 1 and 2 of this series: “Reshaping the Humanities Through Executive Orders” (05/19/2025) and “The Impact of Federal Cuts on the Humanities” (05/21/2025)
Part 3: The Humanities: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
Although it may be difficult to define what the humanities are, we cannot deny their value and impact on society. Gibran Villalobos, a former program officer of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), puts it simply, “The humanities is inquiry into the human condition… it is telling the stories of individuals and their observations of the world in creative and meaningful ways.” He puts the impact of the humanities into a much broader perspective, offering an example that involves one of America’s favorite pastimes: baseball.
“Imagine a world where without arts administration, you would go to a baseball game and you wouldn’t hear music; you wouldn’t see uniforms; you wouldn’t see design. The arts and humanities is embedded in so much of our everyday fabric that it’s almost imperceptible because we’re quite literally wearing it. We wear culture; we wear design; we wear humanities; but again, we don’t do a good job of recognizing that.”
This observation about the nature of arts and humanities is crucial because without concrete evidence of the impact of the field, it’s difficult to convince people that the humanities matter. Although their value is intricately woven into the fabric of everyday life, society takes for granted how these fields cultivate essential soft skills that keep our society running: critical thinking, empathy, communication, ethical reasoning, and cultural awareness. The humanities don’t just enrich our minds; they shape our ability to listen, to interpret, to question, and to connect across space, time, and difference. In overlooking their value, we risk weakening the very skills that help us sustain a thoughtful and humane society.
Villalobos and Katie Waddell, C21’s Managing Director, bring up a great point: We must help people understand that the humanities matter.
“We haven’t done a good job, and I include myself in this unfortunate problem; [we] in the humanities have not made a good argument as to why we are essential in the everyday lives of individuals. I think the proof for that came during the pandemic. No arts, no humanities was listed as an essential service at that time, and that already tells us that we have not done a good job at making a good argument as to why we are essential to economic development, workforce development, health, [and] climate. There are many other reasons as to why we haven’t had the time to do that, especially funding,” said Villalobos.
Essentially people do not recognize that the humanities are all around them, all the time.
Waddell explains the importance of applied humanities in C21’s work with community partners and the university. “While this work can be complex and costly to produce, we insist on producing humanities programming in partnership with communities beyond the bounds of campus because we believe in meaningfully expanding access to humanities-based practices to everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status or educational attainment. We also believe that the question of who the humanities field should serve is not just a matter of institutional ethics. It is existential.” She explains that publics that do not understand or value the humanities will support the humanities. “The consequences of this are evident across the country, where the resource pools for humanities departments evaporate year by year. But there is also evidence of reversals when publicly engaged and applied humanities practices are embraced by universities,” she said.
What can we do to help museums, libraries, cultural centers, public broadcasting, and institutions like the Center for 21st Century Studies that have been affected by DOGE’s cuts to humanities-centered programming?
Simply put, patronize them. Show the federal government how necessary these institutions are to our communities. If you don’t have a library card, get one. Use the resources available at the library, like the Libby app, to listen to and read books. Check your local library’s website for programs, lectures, book clubs, and other activities that they offer to the public. Visit a museum and learn about a culture different than your own. Donate to your favorite public radio station or podcast and introduce your children to educational programming like Sesame Street and Daniel Tiger – make your kid a PBS Kid.
In terms of C21’s future, Waddell explains that the Center will pursue grants from private sources to keep public programming going. “We’re also going to examine our own assumptions about what our programs should look like and what kinds of resources are required to make them happen. That may help us make it through this period of scarcity,” she said. “It’s not sustainable long-term, however. Humanities work is work. It cannot continue if it has no material support.”
On that note, add C21 to your list of organizations to visit and engage with. Please support us by reading our work, listening to our 6.5 Minutes With…podcast, and actively participating in our events throughout the year. Consider supporting C21 through a donation. Your gift supports student scholarships and fellowships, annual programming such as podcasts, lectures, panel discussions, interdisciplinary initiatives, and our UWM Fellows program that brings scholars together to create new knowledge. Visit https://uwm.edu/c21/about/give/ to give to the Center for 21st Century Studies.
All Slow Digest posts are independently researched and written by individual contributors. All opinions expressed therein are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions of UW-Milwaukee or the UW system.
Part I of this essay can be found here. Part II can be found here.