(Re)Branding the Humanities? A Qualitative Content Analysis of the Portrayal of the Humanities’ at Seven Higher Education Institutions in Sweden during 2015-2016

Abstract

The aim of this essay is to through descriptive qualitative content analysis investigate how seven different institutions of higher education in Sweden present the Humanities, and what kind of brand identity that emerges from the texts. The essay also aims to investigate if the brand identity bears any of the characteristics of the challenge-driven Humanities that the think-tank Humtank promote (the analysed universities all have representatives in Humtank). The results show that there is a tendency to repetitiveness, and that there seems so be a certain insecurity about what the Humanities are supposed to be, and especially what their field of competence is, as well as what role the Humanities play in today’s society. Only one of the universities show clear traces of the challenge driven Humanities that Humtanks promote.