Why the Humanities in a Flat World?

Location

Mother Rosalie Hill Hall, Warren Auditorium

Free

In The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman describes a technologically-driven, modern world in which the traditional forms of wealth – land, labor and capital – have been displaced by knowledge and processes. This transition was acutely experienced during the 2008 economic crisis – of unemployment, mortgage foreclosures and banking collapses – and the years that followed. Where do these recent circumstances take us as educators in the humanities? And what is the role of the humanities in this new, flat, and overcrowded world where economic opportunities seem so limited? What do the humanities bring to the table that is essential to the future of the West and the world?

John Heitmann received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University and is a professor of history at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. His area of expertise – the history of science and technology – led to the publication of The Automobile and American Life. Professor Heitmann is now working on his next book entitled Stealing Cars: From the Model T to Today.