We live in a dynamic world, ever assaulted by our environment, with few places to turn where we can relax, unwind, be at one. While we have the added double-edged sword of the digital world to add to our list of anxieties (and the irony of this being a digital post is not lost on me), people have always looked for a way to disengage from the world while feeling a strong connection to their internal, humanistic side. The amazing thing about the humanities is that this field allows us to do this in a solitary environment, such as at home with a book, but we can also do this in a crowded library, theatre, or classroom. Why is this of interest? Simply because it means that what we crave to permit us to relax and reinvigorate ourselves is not necessarily time alone; we crave time spent with the humanities. They are a part of our everyday lives and we find them in our everyday, public spaces.
Continue reading Adams and Foner: The Humanities as the Past, Present, and Future of Public Life
