Mentor: Carolyn Craig

This project explores the social and economic impacts of capitalist culture as a result of the United States’ push for commitment to the status quo. It attempts to answer the question: “How has the societal push for STEM subjects in secondary education in the U.S. as a result of capitalist values led to the decrease in participation of the humanities in academic settings?” Articles written by scholars who are concerned for what the future holds for the humanities were implemented to express grievances for the fields whose membership, funding, and appreciation are dwindling. The findings of this paper allude to the fault of late capitalist governance and monopolistic corporations for the trends of decreasing involvement and funding of the humanities since the year 2000. Reliance on funding for research in humanities fields -- with a focus on linguistic and cultural anthropology -- limits the financial ability for experts to deepen cultural, artistic, and moral understanding. The threat that literature poses on the maintenance of capitalist government provides motivation for these countries to limit citizen’s freedom of press in an effort to quell potential uprisings sparked by printed radical ideas. The compiled research aims to convince its readers that various fields of humanities are necessary for the functioning of society through philosophical and sociological perspectives. This project thus hopes to bring into light the effects that cutting funding in academia, suppressing studies of minority cultures, and restricting access to literature have on US citizens. By discovering how values posed by the social and economic systems in the U.S. negatively impact humanities fields in higher education, this research brings to attention the disproportionate access to opportunities for those pursuing careers in the humanities, especially within academia.

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