Humanistic Perspectives on the Arts: Thinking in Public, Writing for the World

This course examines the ever-evolving role of the university-trained scholar in contemporary culture. In the varied ecosystems of contemporary publishing, what are the boundaries between academic and public-facing work? What obligations, if any, do scholars have to engage with the public? How do institutional structures like discipline and field bear on what we choose to write about in non-academic venues? What does it mean, as a scholar, to be "very online"? Through these questions, and others, we attempt a critical and creative evaluation of the paths for scholarship outside, or alongside, traditional venues for academic writing.