Steven Marcus
NOTES ON SOME PROBLEMS IN THE
HUMANITIES TODAY
For the purposes of convenience, I will assume what is not
true----namely that we all know what the humanities are, what they
consist of, are in agreement about how to define and describe them,
and can begin our discussion from this point of consensus. There are
reasons to be found that account for the circumstance that none of
this is true; but they are complex, and this is probably not the occasion
to bring them forward. I will also assume that our purpose here today
is to be suggestive and stimulating rather than persuasive and conclu–
sive; that we want to open up discussion, speculation and argument
and not bring them to a close or even
to
a conclusion. Hence in what
follows, I will not try to render every point in a formal demonstration
and will not try to deliver a tightly-knit or closely-structured argu–
ment, but will rely on the good will of all involved to take these
remarks within the context of our common purpose.
One useful way of discussing the humanities is
to
regard them as
an institution. In this sense one of their many functions has to do with
the past, with its preservation, perpetuation and modification. They
do so by reason of the special attention they give to books and to what
is written, to the written record, the
litera scripta
which are their special
instrument.
It
is probably only a small exaggeration to say that with–
out the humanities we would have no past; at least we would have no
history-for the multifold activities out of which the complex and
ambiguous notion of history is constituted are activities that belong
with special force to what we think of as the humanities. So regarded
the humanities seem to have or
to
exercise special custodial functions;
