US Academic Job Market in Humanities – The number of positions advertised at least 30% lower

In an effort to place the job advertisements in the broader context of the humanities field, staff members at the Humanities Indicators gathered up the numbers reported by the larger societies back to 2001. The following chart summarizes data reported by the largest disciplinary societies in the humanities and highlights a pattern of decline among the disciplines that began with the recession and continued through the most recent reports. Job ads for each of the disciplines peaked in the 2007–2008 academic year (2007 for philosophy, which reports by calendar year only). As of the most recent reports from each society, the number of positions advertised was at least 30% lower in every discipline except classical studies (which was down 14% from the peak).

Are these declines an indication of trouble for the disciplines and the field as a whole? And do they capture the whole picture of the state of demand in the humanities at large and in these disciplines in particular? The numbers need to be read with considerable caution.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Danger Signs for the Academic Job Market in Humanities? – American Academy of Arts & Sciences.