2026 ACLS Social Media Campaign Toolkit

Talk About It: The Value of Humanists and Social Scientists


Campaign Overview

ACLS invites scholars, societies, organizations, and advocates to make a direct and compelling case for disciplines and research in the humanities and social sciences on social media. The message is simple: we need more humanities and social sciences scholars and research. The goal is to flood feeds across platforms with clear, salient, personal statements that are jargon free and relevant to spark discussion.

Key Dates

We are extending the campaign! Please post content through the end of May 2026. ACLS will repost content throughout the campaign and continue to amplify during key periods, with focused dates in May and September this year.

Use the following tools to help guide your participation on social media, but please personalize and share your own stories, photos and experiences as much as possible.

Content Suggestions and Tips

  • We need [scholars in a discipline] because…
  • We need more [scholars in a discipline] because…
  • What does [field] tell us about the world?
  • See examples

Tone

  • Conversational and approachable, avoid academic jargon where possible
  • Imagine explaining to a friend who consumes familiar topics, and is curious about current events though not connected to any academic ties

Guiding Questions

Please feel free to be creative with your responses!

  • Who you are? What is your field/background?
  • How does your field connect to one real world topic or issues?
  • Why do we need scholars in your field?

Hashtags

Hashtags help connect posts to campaign conversations and allow us to track engagement. Feel free to use one or both!

  • #TalkAboutHumanities
  • #TalkAboutSocialSciences

Text Posts Examples

Not to be used verbatim, please customize.

We need more classicists because the questions ancient societies asked about democracy, power, and justice are the same ones we’re still trying to answer. #TalkAboutHumanities

We need more political scientists because democracy is not self-executing. Fair elections, accountable institutions, and informed citizens require research, evidence, and careful study of how power operates. #TalkAboutSocialSciences

We need musicologists because music shapes our understanding of people, politics, and culture throughout time. I research how protest songs traveled across the African diaspora, and tracing those connections reveals how communities stayed linked across borders and generations. #TalkAboutHumanities

What do art historians teach us about the world? They teach us that images have always been used to shape what people believe. I research how political propaganda used portraiture in the 16th century, and we see similar tactics used on social media today. #TalkAboutHumanities

Visual Posts and Canva Templates

  • Canva template
    • Just drop in your text and photos!
    • The template does not have to be strictly followed – feel free to change colors, branding, remix it, etc!
  • Use photos from your field work, of you teaching, in the archives, or at community or scholarly events, speaking or interacting with others

Video Posts

  • “Selfie style” vertical videos – nothing fancy, just you talking to family or friends about why your field and your research is important
  • Time Constraint
    • 30 – 45 seconds
    • Short and clear message for socials

Suggested language for sharing with members or other organizations

[Organization name] is participating in a social media campaign with ACLS the week of April 13-17, and we invite you to join in! The message is simple and proactive: we need more humanities and social sciences scholars and research.

The goal is to flood feeds across platforms with personal, jargon-free statements that make the case for—not defend—specific fields and areas of study in the humanities and social sciences with posts such as: “We need more environmental historians because…” or “We need religious studies scholars because…” or “What do literary studies scholars teach us about the world?”  [feel free to swap these out directly for your field]

A toolkit with more details, example posts, and Canva templates can be found here: www.acls.org/TalkAboutHumanities

Questions?

Reach out to Anna Polovick-Waggy, ACLS Communications Manager.