Introduction to the Humanities and the Role of the Humanities in the History of Higher Education in the United States

The first printed book was published in Germany “about” 1450; it was The Gutenberg Bible. The first book printed and published in England was “about” 1475 by William CaxtonCaxton, William; it was the first print edition of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury TalesChaucer, Geoffrey, . Oxford University Press (OUP)Oxford University Press (OUP) was the first university press (1478), and its first book was Arch. G e. 8, Expositio in symbolorum apostolorum, Exposition of the Apostlic Creed, by Rufinus of Aquilea. The first printed scholarly journal was the Journal des Scavans, launched in January 1665 in France. The first book printed in the American colonies was The Bay Psalm Book in 1640. In the American coloniesAmerican colonies, the majority of the earliest colleges were created to train individuals for the ministry, and the curriculum included the traditional academic fields in the humanitiesHumanities. Higher education in the United StatesHigher education in the United States grew slowly, but the humanities were the preeminent academic field until the new emphasis on science during World War II. After the war, the humanities sustained periods of growth and later concern about the “crisis in the humanitiesCrisis in the humanities.” This chapter investigates these issues and provides statistical data about the number of faculty and majors in the humanities.