Graduating high school never felt like victoriously crossing a finish line. The moment I turned the tassel, a paralyzing decision seized my attention: what degree should I pursue in college?
Some students drift aimlessly into higher universities, but my experience was the antithesis of that. I knew exactly what degree I wanted to pursue: English.
The decision, however, became more complicated than I expected.
To be slumped over a desk in some business or finance class would be damning myself to the ninth layer of Dante’s hell.
I yearned to spend the next four years immersed in the medieval worlds of Shakespeare and the melancholic poems of Sylvia Plath.
That much was clear.
When discussing my academic plans with my parents, however, my mom made one fervent request: “Choose a degree that guarantees you a good job.”
These words haunt every humanities student. Are we all going to end up jobless after squandering tens of thousands of dollars on a worthless piece of paper?
Admitting your major to people never fails to evoke a wide-eyed reaction, always followed by a question like, “So, what do you plan on doing with that degree? Teach?”
Their stares make you wonder if you’re running blindly on a path toward homelessness and drinking away regret at dimly lit bars.
The condescending question makes you feel like disclosing oneself as a humanities student is a shameful secret only to be revealed in a confessional.
Our society bombards students with the destructive narrative that pursuing a humanities degree is wasteful, foolish spending.
As a result, more and more students steer towards STEM or business degrees, believing these studies guarantee a golden ticket toward success in a competitive, soul-crushing job market.
And who can blame them? Students invest a significant amount of money, effort and time into a degree and rightfully desire the output of a successful and enjoyable career.
Regardless of what the magnified voices in our culture proclaim, by pursuing a humanities degree, students wisely invest in an education guaranteed to serve them in every vocation they may eventually pursue.
Thus, it becomes more crucial to dispel the false narrative that subjects like history, philosophy and art hold no valuable role in higher university.
Furthermore, our culture should not undermine the plethora of other benefits these subjects offer beyond marketable skills.
These subjects aid all students in the lifelong journey of developing a personal philosophy and solidifying a deeper sense of purpose in the world.
So why does American society teach us otherwise? What arguments refute this harmful narrative?
Over the past century, academia has dedicated a wealth of research to addressing these questions, as well as exploring the shifting views on humanities and its impact on society.
In February, Nathan Heller wrote “The End of the English Major” for “The New Yorker,” in which he discussed the issues surrounding this discipline with several students.
He interviewed a Harvard graduate with a degree in molecular and cellular biology. She described the humanities as a “passion project” that only the affluent could pursue.
“My parents, who were low-income and immigrants, instilled in me the very great importance of finding a concentration that would get me a job—‘You don’t go to Harvard for basket weaving’ was one of the things they would say,” she said.
Another student, Henry Haimo, picked a humanities degree and encountered several obstacles while applying for a job.
“When I was applying, I kept thinking, What qualifies me for this job? Sure, I can research, I can write things. But those skills are very difficult to demonstrate, and it’s frankly not what the world at large seems in demand of,” he said.
In “Selling the English BA Program,” Stephen A. Raynie reflects on the job anxiety of a student he spoke with who specializes in humanities.
“Her anxiety brings to light a larger problem…in that the connection between leading that financially secure life and a college degree is frequently clear only if the degree has a name that connects it to an obvious job category,” he said.
Nobody doubts that a business degree paves a clear path toward success in the business world. A business student needs only to connect with Humana, Amazon or a plethora of other businesses to secure a financially stable life.
Humanities students, however, often do not see a direct connection between their specialization and jobs except in a teaching, writing or research capacity.
As a result, most humanities students believe they possess no valuable skills to elevate themselves in an interview.
Thanks to technological pioneers like Steve Jobs, the English department must contend with even more difficulties that sweep students away in the STEM wave.
Assigning classics like “The Count of Monte Cristo” or “The Brothers Karamazov” is impossible when most Gen Z students hold the attention span of a squirrel.
Professors cannot expect students to immerse themselves in 700-page classics when devices of endless, immediate distraction lay at their fingertips.
Luckily, professors and researchers refuse to end this discussion with a sense of defeat.
“In order to sell an English program, students, parents, and administrators have to see its value as part of the larger project of a liberal arts education…They need to see college and majoring in English as a path designed to achieve a deeper, more meaningful life,” Raynie said.
To understand the role of humanities, we must first understand that the role of higher education extends far beyond producing competent workers.
While the articles referenced here focus on how the English major benefits students, all humanities majors hold equal merit.
In “Career planning and the English major,” John J. Clayton writes about the benefits of the English major in the workforce.
“People who think for themselves, communicate well, and operate within a complex humanity are more adaptable, more competent in new learning, [and] better professionals in any field,” he said.
In the article “‘It will always have value’: readers on whether English lit is worthwhile,” Jedidajah Otte and Guardian readers support Clayton’s thesis.
Nageena Rehman, for example, studied English literature at Sheffield Hallam University.
“I loved studying English literature at Sheffield Hallam University…English kept my employment options open. I have worked as a private tutor, a journalist, and am now a stagehand and technician at my local [theater],” Rehman said. “[Through my study of English literature,] I gained an understanding of different perspectives, and learned how to articulate my thoughts on paper and in person — a key skill in all of my work.”
Furthermore, Clayton believes that the distrust in humanities partly arose from a “public relations problem.”
The humanities faculty must perform a better job of disseminating the benefits of these fields to students and society beyond.
Furthermore, as Clayton said, the department must “pummel into the ground the stereotype” that humanities degrees will lead to severely limited career options.
The humanities cultivate students with creative, curious and intelligent minds who will make a tremendous impact on society and preserve democracy for generations to come.
I won’t feel a pang of regret when I receive my college diploma, because I hold an unwavering confidence that studying English, history and philosophy will shape me into a valuable contributor to society.
