Helen Small, Jonathan and Julia Aisbitt Fellow in English Literature, Pembroke College, Oxford

Helen Small is Professor of English at Oxford University and Jonathan and Julia Aisbitt Fellow of English at Pembroke College, Oxford. She is the author of The Long Life (OUP, 2007) (awarded the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism 2007) and the editor of The Public Intellectual (2002).

"I can especially commend The Value of the Humanities to an Irish audience ... [it will] serve both as an inspiration and as a template for authors wishing to take up the challenge of defending research in a broad spread of disciplines from the short-sighted but ultimately ruinous plans of todays utilitarians." - Nicholas Canny, Dublin Review of Books

"The Value of the Humanities a stimulating, unemotional, closely argued book seeks to shift the debate away from overly negative criticisms of government policies and to adopt a reflective and measured approach to the issues." - Colin Steele, Australian Book Review

"Highly intelligent" - Barton Swain, Wall Street Journal

"a lucid summary of the case for the humanities that avoids the victim complex that is the bane of such discussions." - David Willetts, Times Higher Education

"Helen Small does a good job cheerleading for [the Humanities]." - Northern Echo