The Humanities in American Life: At a Glance
About the Survey
The Survey of the Humanities in American Life is a first-of-its-kind nationally representative survey of Americans about their engagement with and perception of the humanities.
The survey was developed over the course of two years by the staff of the Humanities Indicators (a project of the American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences), in consultation with leaders from public humanities organizations, scholarly societies, and federal agencies with an interest in the field. The survey was administered in November 2019, in English and Spanish, to 5,015 U.S. adults age 18 and older who participate in NORC at the University of Chicago’s AmeriSpeak Panel.
The enclosed pages present the key findings from the survey in four parts:
- Engagement with the Humanities
- Attitudes about the Humanities
- The Humanities in Childhood and Education
- Humanities Skills in the Workplace
The findings included here only skim the surface of the results. Visit for a detailed report on the survey findings, which includes an analysis by gender, age, and other key demographics, as well as a detailed description of the survey methodology.
The Ƶ gratefully acknowledges the financial support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the primary funder of the Humanities Indicators, for underwriting this study.
