The Value of the Humanities by Helen Small

Professor Helen Small of Oxford University presents her new book, The Value of the Humanities. This book provides a critical account of the principal arguments used to defend the value of the Humanities. Engaging closely with contemporary literary and philosophical work in the field from the UK and US, Helen Small distinguishes between arguments that retain strong Victorian roots (Mill on happiness; Arnold on use value) and those that have developed or been substantially altered since. Unlike many works in this field, The Value of the Humanities is not a polemic or a manifesto. Its purpose is to explore the grounds for each argument, and to test its validity for the present day. Cosponsored by the First Wednesday Series of the Department of English at New York University, this event was held on February 5, 2014, and featured an introduction by Mary Poovey, Professor of English at NYU.