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Growing outcry at threat of cuts in humanities at universities | Education | The Guardian

An influential group of leading academics and cultural figures has issued a stark warning that they fear for the future of the arts and humanities in British universities.

A letter to the Observer, signed by the directors of major arts institutions and a number of university vice-chancellors, claims that funding cuts and a decision to focus on the sciences have left subjects such as philosophy, literature, history, languages and art facing "worrying times". Without urgent action the country's intellectual heritage is in danger of being diminished, they conclude.

The letter says arts and humanities enrich the country's quality of life and help people to look at the world from different perspectives: "People's complexity comes from their language, identities, histories, faiths and cultures."