The House Appropriations Committee is about to consider a proposed forty-nine percent cut to the National Endowment for the Humanities. The MLA and the National Humanities Alliance encourage you to contact your elected representatives to express support for the NEH and its important work on behalf of the humanities.
Voice Your Support for the NEH
6 Comments
Comments are closed.
THe NEH should be expanded, not cut. It does work vital to the mind and soul of this country.
I absolutely agree with Richard Strier that the valuable programs of the NEH should be expanded, not cut, in their vital service to the minds and souls of our citizenry. Please fight the good fight in support of NEH funding and its many indispensable programs.
The proposed cuts in both NEH and NEA funding have obvious roots in the sequester plan of the Republicans, their “reform” program for public education in particular, and their longstanding attack on freedom of speech, inquiry, and informed discussion in general. We all know this. The attempts of the MLA to skirt political analysis of the reactionary basis of these attacks leaves us with no ground to stand on. This is one case where it does no good to “speak truth to power.” A movement of teacher-parent-student opposition to reactionary “reform” of our educational system must be grounded in real argument. If the MLA can’t bring itself to do this, why should we bother to support it? It has long since defanged itself. What can we mount instead of this feeble rhetoric of complaint, and where can we mount it?
I would not want to see see funding cut as NEH furnishes excellent opportunities for faculty to connect with their disciplines and other faculty. After my own two NEH experiences, as an Assistant Dean of English I strongly encouraged department faculty to apply and all reported great experiences..
The NEH is a vital part of the USA’s culture insofar as it sponsors many excellent programs through grants as well as other means. It is important to keep it as strong as possible, not for the sake of scholars, but for the sake of our culture as Americans.
To cut the National Endowment for the Humanities budget would hinder the opportunity to grow as persons that future engineers and medical professionals need to develop the human touch as they deal with other persons in their future work. Cultural values have a significant place in our society. Think outside of the box!