Call for proposals: Humanities Futures book series

We are delighted to announce the details of our exciting new book series, Humanities Futures, and to invite book proposal submissions. 

Humanities Futures is a new book series that advocates powerfully for the value of the humanities and their vital role in tackling contemporary society’s most pressing issues.  

Our need for the humanities is greater than ever. In today’s rapidly changing world, the humanities provide critical insights into our past and present while fostering creativity, communication and cross-cultural connections that help us to navigate uncertain futures.   

This open access book series is a unique, collaborative platform for the exchange of ideas and perspectives across disciplines, policy and practice, showcasing how the humanities – and the arts – can help solve complex global challenges. Titles in the series will include agenda-setting, evidence-based works from leading experts that explore the value and future of humanities scholarship, the importance of the humanities to society, culture, the economy and the environment, and the contribution of the humanities to future skills needs. Accessibly written, the books will present diverse viewpoints and offer actionable insights for decision-makers across all sectors.   

At its core, the series makes a case for the power of collaboration in developing solutions to the most urgent social challenges we face, and for the essential part arts and humanities research plays within this.  

The University of London Press is an integral part of the School of Advanced Study (SAS), University of London, a national research centre for advancing the humanities. As such, we have a unique remit in service of the arts and humanities, supporting the work of SAS in empowering the humanities community to better advocate for the humanities and its importance to our society – a key driver for this new book series.     

In a recent University of London feature, Professor Jo Fox, Dean and Chief Executive of the School of Advanced Study, made a compelling case for the impact of the humanities, which helps to set out the important context for the series:  

The humanities matter. 

They matter not only to economic growth (and numerous studies have shown that to be the case), but because they help us confront the critical challenges of the day. Indeed, they help us understand what it is to live a meaningful and purposeful life. A good education is not measured purely in the contribution it makes to our bank balances (although the humanities tell a good story here too); it gives us perspectives on the world, encourages an open and critical mind, and helps us to understand what it means to be alive, what it means to be human.  

Contemporary debates are often hampered by an old-fashioned view of what the humanities are now and can be in the future. We are not (and have not been for some time) a set of stuffy disciplines researching increasingly obscure topics. Humanities research is dynamic, its boundaries porous, and its impacts significant and varied. Humanities researchers and medics collaborate widely in pursuit of the well-being agenda, for instance, while science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) researchers call on their humanities colleagues to frame discussions around responsible research and innovation. […] 

All of this points to the fact the humanities are relevant and they matter: we study human behaviour and interactions, who we are and how we arrived here. They matter as we consider climate change, global mobility, social injustice, human rights, poverty, the values we hold, and what kind of society we want to be. 

The School is proud to find itself at the heart of the debates over the future of the humanities. We enter them comforted by the knowledge that we are not alone in our passion for the arts, languages and cultures, history, literature, and classical study. Turn on the television and radio; scan podcast series; walk into a bookshop; go to the theatre, a local museum, library or gallery. The humanities continue to play a critical role in our children’s education and in fostering their imagination. They bring communities together in local projects. They are at the centre of contemporary debates over social justice, identities, and a fair society. The humanities are all around us and woven into the fabric of the everyday. So rather than becoming mired in pessimistic and unproductive debates over our future, let’s channel our energies into pursuing new knowledge that will make a real difference and celebrating the humanities confidently and proudly. Imagine what we might achieve if we do. 

– Professor Jo Fox, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research & Public Engagement) at the University of London, and Dean and Chief Executive of the School of Advanced Study 

We are actively seeking book proposals for the Humanities Futures series. Proposals are invited for books that explore the value of the arts and humanities, and aim to answer high-level, future-facing questions with clear cross-sector relevance. The series is open to submissions for single-authored, multi-authored and edited volumes as well as short-form books (20,000—50,000 words). More detail can be found on the series webpage or please get in touch if you have a project you’d like to discuss.