Humanities dissertations increasingly critical of Western culture
American doctoral dissertations in history, literature, philosophy, arts and culture are becoming more critical of Western culture, even as fewer people complete them.
The number of humanities dissertations dropped 49% from a historic peak of 33,473 in 2015 to 16,951 in 2025, the American Academy of Sciences and Letters reported. The dataset overrepresents large research universities, with declines most pronounced at elite schools.
Meanwhile, the share of words tied to identity politics and social theory grew tenfold from 1960 to 2025, with a sharp acceleration after 2019. That includes terms such as “intersectionality,” “decolonization,” “patriarchy,” “oppression,” “queer,” “equity,” “diversity,” “whiteness,” “marginalization,” “privilege,” “diaspora,” “disability,” “gender,” “feminist,” “systemic racism” and “social justice.”
