Navigating Digital Humanities Careers Beyond the Ivory Tower emerges from this critical juncture in the humanities, where the decline in tenure-track positions and the rise of part-time and contingent roles necessitate explorations of the extensive career paths that are both meaningful and viable for DH scholars. Synthesizing recent advice-oriented monographs such as Katina Rogers’s Putting the Humanities PhD to Work (Duke 2020) and recent works on digital humanities pedagogy and infrastructure with What We Teach When We Teach DH (Minnesota 2025) and Digital Futures of Graduate Study in the Humanities (Minnesota 2024), this edited collection aims to extend the discussion and offer debate about academic preparation for multiple pathways, career transitions, and the broad impact of DH work.
This volume will focus on the future of DH and the humanities more broadly, including emerging trends, potential for interdisciplinary collaboration, and inquiry on the possible futures of DH, professionalization and education. Through both theory and praxis, the collection challenges what success means within DH; discussing a more expansive view that considers impactful work across diverse sectors.This edited collection will also grapple with current economic uncertainties and changes impacting the humanities and higher education overall, particularly given U.S. President Trump’s recent executive orders to end Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and dismantle the federal Department of Education agency.