Conclusions

Conclusions

• The longstanding presence of late capitalist culture in the United States is pushed through federal and corporative propaganda to present many humanities and social science fields as unworthy pursuits in education. This is further done through the cutting of programs and positions in these fields, which creates fear among students of committing to these subjects as majors. 

• The governing powers in the United States are aware of the power of the humanities in social issues, reform, and resistance; neoliberal implementations on social and economic levels in the U.S. discourage resistance from the nation's population. These continuously growing views and ideologies have led to a decrease in appreciation of, funding for, and participation in the humanities fields.

• The result of these effects on the humanities field is that those who do study or work within them face uncertainty about their future; funding and job positions are being heavily cut, programs that encourage and even allow for research pursuits in these areas of study are also being limited in their capactiy, and there is minimal public support for their continuation due to the increasingly held social and economic values of U.S. citizens that shape the view of fields in higher education.

  • Thus, individuals who maintain their interest in humanities fields despite the multiple forces that attempt to push citizens away from them still struggle with low salaries due to decreased participation and funding, lack of political or social support given a leading worldview in the country, and decreasing opportunities of study through the dismantling of programs.

Future Directions

Study of capitalism’s drive for A.I. and its destruction of the humanities, higher education, and individual intellect.

Approaches for how the importance of the humanities could be more widely recognized and appreciated in U.S. culture through their modernization.