Humanities

Felipe Fernández-Armesto on two undergraduates’ stairways to heaven (via Cincinnati)

David Gewanter recalls the time he spent studying under the late poet

Commemoration of the 1914-18 war should involve critical reflection rather than arouse an inarticulate glow of national pride

Students get deeper insights when writers and poets such as Dickens and Neruda are on the syllabus, David Aberbach argues

Sarah Coakley, Cambridge professor of divinity, discusses how theology throws light on evolution, gender and other issues

Computer generated jokes can make people laugh, researchers have found, although they are still not as funny as human witticisms.

A sense of impending doom is nothing new in higher education, says Alan Ryan

Laura Frost on the paradox of women’s lust that science struggles to comprehend

Study of the past gives Nick Hillman insight into policymaking dilemmas as well as personal and practical rewards

British Academy’s new president demands clarity and humility

Aaron Rosen on how the UK is improving on a US staple

A British university has purchased the manuscript of a literary landmark at a price of close to a million pounds.

Lecturers aid students in ‘School of the Damned’

Long-term study of alumni careers questions coalition’s STEM emphasis

Scholars at two UK universities are to recreate the 400-year-old walking adventures of celebrated playwright Ben Jonson using social media.

Edge Hill scholar turns a queer eye on ageing

A conference being held this week is setting out to revive a neglected area of research which the Arab Spring has put back in the world’s spotlight.

Digital collection of 5 million pages aims to ‘open window’ on to India’s recent past

Anthropologist gets her hands dirty with Big Apple’s sanitation workers

Let’s penetrate the academic boundaries, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Spiders star in scholar’s photographic study

Liz Schafer explores why the work of the playwright Elizabeth Cary has been so marginalised

Leading designers discuss how UK institutions must adopt technologies and work with industry

A major new academic study exploring the attitudes of women who have converted to Islam in Britain looks at issues ranging from dress codes to divorce, marriage to media stereotypes and spirituality to sexuality.

An exhibition gives context and renewed attention to Richard Marsh, whose work outsold Dracula

Robert Dunbar appointed to University of Edinburgh chair of Celtic languages

The humanities classroom offers reflection of a healthier sort, says Robert Zaretsky

Comedian Johnny Vegas has mounted a heart-felt defence of art school, claiming that the new fees regime will dissuade students from deprived backgrounds studying for creative degrees to the detriment of society.

Humanities scholars must use dash and pluck to win research cash

Victorian ‘penny dreadfuls’ offer priceless insights into social history

If creativity can’t be taught, the invaluable craft of writing can, says novelist and Bath Spa professor

Graduates with science degrees are less likely to be out of work during a recession than those who studied humanities, according to new research on more than 6,000 young Americans.

Dean looks to humanities future after Hefce funding renewal

Ex-president of British Sociological Association argues for renewal of disciplines

Nicholas Royle on the rise of creative writing and the need for fresh forms of ‘creative reading’

The academic field of international relations ignores the Global South and is limited by its reliance on the English language, a South African humanities scholar has argued.

Not only do medieval travellers’ tales provide students with a compelling account of history rooted in personal experience, they also promote cross-cultural understanding in the present day, argues David Mould

Humanities must embrace interdisciplinarity and reclaim their key role in our fractured world, says Michael Worton

Ancient rivals fundraise to keep manuscripts in British hands

People take refuge in drama when the bombs rain down, and the arts aid rebuilding when the guns fall silent, says James Thompson, who has travelled to some of the world’s most violent regions, only for the horrors of conflict to be felt closer to home

Maintaining scholarly rigour amid demands for details about the discovery of Richard III was no easy task, but Lin Foxhall enjoyed it

University’s creative and scholarly talent features in 2013 celebrations in first city to win designation

The publisher Sage has slashed the price of publishing in its flagship open-access journal to just $99 (£63) in the wake of concern about whether researchers in the humanities and social sciences will be able to afford to comply with the UK’s new open-access mandates.

School of Humanities bolsters Tsinghua’s ascent to global elite, Carolynne Wheeler hears in Beijing

‘Probably the most significant medieval historian’ rounds on absentee students. Paul Jump writes