What Crisis?:

How Extraordinary Partnerships with the Arts and Humanities are Transforming the Way We Think, Work, and Live

Jenny Gottstein, the Director of Games at The GoGame, a company that builds interactive experiences and high-tech adventures around the world recently remarked that, “Studying Arts & Humanities engenders a healthy sense of curiosity and wonder – not only with regards to how the world actually is, but how it might be. Some might call those who chose this path of study ‘dreamers’ but the truth is, they are ‘futurists.’ And having produced interactive games for thousands of companies around the world, I can tell you, the best ones are powered by futurists.”

This edited volume seeks to shift national conversations about the “crisis” in the arts and humanities to one that bespeaks of “rise” and “renaissance.” Toward this goal, writers are encouraged to portrait thinkers and doers of our time (in the US)—individuals, groups, organizations, businesses, and fields not traditionally associated with the arts and humanities, like science and mathematics—who are transforming the way we think, live, and work. Who are they? How do they apply artistic or humanistic principles? And what extraordinary partnerships are allowing them to challenge assumptions, ask new or revised questions, disrupt old practices and ways of thinking, and create alternative paths, structures, and opportunities?

In this book, the voices of students, community members, educators, scholars, and professionals from any and all fields and disciplines, enter into dialogue to showcase how deeply social and responsible transformations are being driven in partnership with the Arts and Humanities. This is an Arts and Humanities in motion, one whose core teachings are being driven by surprising new visions, in unusual spaces, by diverse communities in the United States, in a host of professional fields and changing environments. This is an Arts and Humanities in which deep scholarly knowledge is put into practice not only to envision “how the world actually is, but how it might be.”

Essays should be written in English, in clear and jargon-free language meant to reach a broad reading public. Please include specific case studies. All authors are welcome.

Please e-mail a tentative title, a 300-word abstract, a short CV or link to publications to Christine Henseler (henselec@union.edu) by January 1st, 2017. Abstracts will be accepted before February 1st, 2017. Full chapters, ranging from 1500 and 5000 words, (or between 3 and 8 single-spaced pages), including notes, are expected by August 1st 2017.

Seeking proposals that examine questions such as:

• Who are the “futurists” of our time and how are they applying artistic or humanistic principles to transform the way we think, live or work?
• Where and how can we observe an arts and humanities “on the rise”? And what is the educational, professional, political, economic and societal significance of such a “rise”?
• Which voices and perspectives have not been heard and could serve to reshape national conversations about the “crisis” and “demise” of the arts and humanities? To what effect?
• What unusual partnerships are leading to creative and perhaps new ideas, products, or structures that are transforming educational priorities, professional missions, or social interactions?
• How are the arts and humanities “in motion” and spreading into different spaces among various communities and demographics? What are the implications of these movements?
• How does the strengthening of the arts and humanities allow for more access points into STEM education and by extension, could have altering effects on future approach in various professional fields?
• What can inter-, cross- multi- or trans-disciplinary initiatives tell us about the value and future of the Arts and Humanities?
• What models of education and public outreach have worked for areas of teaching, learning, and doing that is outside the traditional areas of arts and humanities?
• How are individuals applying artistic or humanistic principles to adapt, change, and reshape everyday values, from the neighborhoods in which we live, the food we consume and the business in which we work?
• What is the future role and value of the arts and humanities among young people seeking professional opportunities “that matter”?
• What is the role of the arts and humanities in the critical restructuring and challenging of our societies?
• How can we expand the spectrum of what the public understands as the educational and personal relevance of the arts and humanities?