The Lyceum Mission

Founded by student members of the National Humanities Leadership Council, the Lyceum’s mission is to create a comprehensive, freely accessible database of curated resources for K-12 educators and students. We are dedicated to humanities outreach and making the humanities more important, accessible, and easy to learn for everyone.

What Makes the Humanities Important?

Understanding the humanities enhances our critical thinking skills, enriches our perspectives and self-expression, and guides us to understand the cultures, communities, and individuals that make up our society.

If you’re confused, think about the things that make you who you are. Think about your ethnic identity, your gender, or your name. Or, think about your favorite food, a piece of music you like, or the kinds of books you enjoy reading. These little things are dear to you; they’re part of you. Believe it or not, they’re also part of something greater:

The humanities!

So, when we take steps to understand the humanities, we also begin to understand ourselves a little more. That understanding can influence how we approach others, as well as the world around us. It can build bridges connecting us to one another—rather than breaking them apart.

What’s the Situation?

🌱 Humanities institutions all across the United States, whether in education, research, or advocacy, have seen significant declines in funding. Thousands of dollars in grants have been lost or redirected away from the humanities, and the situation continues to worsen.

🌱 According to AMCAD, the number of degrees awarded in the humanities conferred has decreased every year since 2012. Even the largest of disciplines, such as English literature, have seen significant declines in interest.

🌱 Similarly, there is low diversity in several humanities fields. The study of the humanities is supposed to be all-inclusive and all-encompassing, yet underserved and minority populations often lack a voice due to diminished resources and outreach.

What Can We Do?

🌱 To keep the humanities strong, it is important to stimulate a passion for learning. This passion is built by active, meaningful engagement with humanities subjects.

🌱 Even so, there are many obstacles to meaningful engagement such as confusion about the humanities are, a lack of resources to access them, or simple disinterest in them. That is why the Lyceum exists! We want to give classrooms the resources they need to conquer these obstacles and thrive.

🌱 Similarly, access to the humanities should not be restricted to one socioeconomic class, race, ethnicity, gender, or other defining characteristic. With our resource platform, we decrease the financial burden of education and highlight diverse leaders in the humanities who are making waves.

If you share our mission, get involved!