Supporting Digital Scholarship

“One thing that hasn’t changed since Project MUSE was founded is that the humanities still struggle not just for funding but also for recognition as relevant and essential in higher education and our everyday lives as citizens. In our STEM-focused culture, it’s truly wonderful that since 1965 the National Endowment for the Humanities has provided these disciplines with tangible support and eloquent advocacy.

“It’s more inspiring than ironic (though I’ll admit it’s possible to enjoy the irony) that the NEH helped Project MUSE and others bring the benefits of technology and the digital revolution to the work of nurturing and advancing the humanities. We hear so often from our publishing partners that MUSE has allowed them to continue publishing in the humanities and social sciences. Some even say that MUSE has been key to their survival.

“MUSE may have been built on technology and innovation, on computing and engineering, but it is inspired and driven by ideas such as democracy and fairness, by the goals of access, openness, and equity. I can’t improve on what the NEH says about this mission we share: ‘Because democracy demands wisdom, NEH serves and strengthens our republic by promoting excellence in the humanities and conveying the lessons of history to all Americans.’

“We sincerely thank Brett Bobley, NEH’s chief information officer and director of the Office of Digital Humanities, and all the leadership and staff at the National Endowment for the Humanities, past and present, for their founding support of Project MUSE and for their continuing work on behalf of scholarly publishing and the humanities. I know the entire community MUSE serves and represents is deeply grateful.”

—Wendy Queen, director of Project MUSE

"The term 'humanities' includes, but is not limited to, the study and interpretation of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of the social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life."

—National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, 1965, as amended