"The Humanities 'Crisis' and the Future of Literary Studies explores the idea that the humanities seem to be in a perpetual state of crisis. Students and parents worry they serve no practical purpose, while many who do endorse their cultural value complain an over-professionalized faculty preoccupied with esoteric theories and political agendas has left them compromised. Jay argues both concerns are misplaced. He insists the humanities do teach students a set of useful skills, and that they are most effectively taught in courses that stress theoretical thinking, sensitivity to social justice, and the ability to use scholarly and critical methodologies. Focusing on the field of literary studies, Jay argues that the value of the humanities must be framed in a balanced way that stresses both the importance of the cultural knowledge they embody and the utility of the transferable skills they teach. The real humanities crisis is not intellectual but budgetary, and it can best be countered by emphasizing the practical value of a humanities education"

Incluye referencias bibliográficas (páginas [195]-202) e índice.

1. The Humanities Crisis Then and Now -- 2. Professionalism and Its Discontents -- 3. Humanism, the Humanities, and Political Correctness -- 4. Getting to the Core of the Humanities, or Who's Afraid of Gloria Anzaldúa? -- 5. Aesthetics, Close Reading, Theory, and the Future of Literary Studies -- 6. The Humanities and the Public Sphere in the Age of the Internet.