MIT’s Comparative Global Humanities initiative (GHI) hosted its Third Annual Conference on What is the Business of the Humanities? on November 8 & 9, 2024, at Dominican University of California. Co-hosted with the Francoise O. Lepage Center for Global Innovation at Dominican University of California, and its director, Wayne de Fremery, the Initiative convened scholars and leaders from Higher Education, business, and philanthropy to explore and reimagine the “Business of the Humanities” in today’s business-and-STEM-driven world. We were honored to welcome John Silvanus Wilson (Former President of Morehouse College and Former Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Universities and Colleges) as our keynote speaker. The rest of the first day featured lightening talks on topics ranging from the “business” of education, humanities and democracy, the history of the humanities and current transformation of the humanities under financial pressures, humanities and artificial intelligence, humanities and the global health economy, and new leadership training for entrepreneurially-minded
The conference also featured the Roundtable Discussion on the Business of the Humanities moderated by Wayne de Fremery, Director of the Françoise Lepage Center of Global Innovation at Dominican University of California. The panel included Nicola Pitchford (President, Dominican University of California), Otto Scharmer, Michael Puett and Wiebke Denecke (Faculty lead of MIT Comparative Global Humanities Initiative). The discussion moved around how we can we expand the cognitive & creative, ethical & social, playful & healthful contributions of the humanities to our world and its pressing challenges, beyond their traditional role as producer of scholars and educators; what new leadership roles could humanities graduates and scholars could play in our societies; how we can reimagine the humanities and turn them “inside out,” pushing them out of their traditional siloed, ivory-towered existence and comfort zone into a new era for higher education in the era of STEM, big tech, and business.
