Twentieth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

For many, the current pace of the academy and the cultures of expectation and increasing demands at liberal arts colleges and universities can be overwhelming and seem unsustainable to the work and well-being of faculty and students. This paper begins with an overview of reasons for this phenomenon, tracks and compares the history of scholarly production, teaching and service requirements in U.S. colleges and universities, and argues that literary and cultural studies can help shape a more equitable, sustainable, and enriching model. Methods and theories of reading and research and technological developments, when rushed or embraced without sufficient critical inquiry can lead to scholarly and teaching and learning modes wherein the ends dictate the cultures and trends of the work. Using examples of literary scholarship, teaching and learning, and the potential influence of literary and cultural studies on college and university service work, this paper offers a pilot example of and argument for the role of slowing down. “Slow Humanities” argues for a consideration of how some scholars, faculty and students are susceptible to forms of inequity, exhaustion, and violence attendant with an increasing culture of fast. Literary and cultural studies’ attention to these forms can demonstrate ways and stakes of rethinking academic pace.