Presentation Schedule
To Be or Not to Be: The Challenge to Teach Humanities Courses in the Age of AI (98627)
Session Chair: John Williams
Saturday, 18 April 2026 15:00
Session: Session 3
Room: Room 144A (1F)
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Since the arrival of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude, humanities instructors have faced an urgent question: how can we preserve the purpose and value of our disciplines when the very skills we teach—critical thinking, close reading, and analytical writing—can now be simulated by a machine? For those of us in history, philosophy, literature, and related fields, the challenge is not simply about technology, but about safeguarding the formative, human-centered learning that occurs when students wrestle with ideas under the guidance of an experienced teacher.
This presentation draws on my experiences as a humanities instructor and on conversations with colleagues across institutions who are confronting these shifts. I examine how course design, assignments, and assessment strategies are changing in response to AI’s presence in the classroom. I highlight examples ranging from the outright banning of AI-generated work to the careful integration of AI as a tool for research preparation, reflection, and discussion.
Three focal points guide this discussion: (1) the enduring mission of the university as a place for self-development and civic engagement; (2) the ways AI reshapes, and sometimes erodes, traditional teaching models in the humanities; and (3) practical, human-centered strategies to preserve disciplinary rigor while adapting to rapid technological change. Far from conceding defeat, the humanities can respond to AI not by imitating it, but by doubling down on the irreplaceably human work of interpretation, judgment, and meaning-making.
Authors:
John Williams, Collin College, United States
About the Presenter(s)
Dr John Williams is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Collin College in United States
See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule
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