<p>To me, it feels as though all a humanities major hears from teachers, parents, peers, etc. is "What are you going to do with a degree in [insert humanities discipline here]?!" Many colleges are decreasing funding for the humanities or cutting departments entirely. So, I'm curious - why are you majoring in the humanities, despite the discouragement? How do you answer the "What are you going to do with a degree in ___?!" question? Why are the humanities still important and relevant today?</p>
<p>Just a humanities group-encouragement thread, because there are too many humanities group-discouragement threads.</p>
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<p>"The reason we need the humanities is because we’re human."</p>
<p>One thing that comes up at or near the top over and over again in surveys of employers when they’re asked what skills they want their employees to have is the ability to communicate effectively and clearly. All joking about the writings of postmodernist theorists aside, what skill does any humanities field teach its students if not how to communicate effectively and clearly?</p>
I stray from the more definitive paths - namely maths and the more scientific sciences - because they are innately limited. With math, 1+1 can only equal two, and this singularity of mind is, well, inhuman. With the humanities, however, the matter is open to discussion, such that nothing is as simple nor certain as 1+1=2. There are limitless possibilities, and this sort of uncertainty grips me.
I’m a philosophy major (also into English) because I enjoy the subject(s) thoroughly. I feel that, the more I learn in any subject within the humanities, I grow in my own thinking and the manner in which I approach things improves.
The humanities allow one to discover alternate manners of thinking, to approach things in a number of different ways, write well, think critically, and a number of different skills that are beneficial almost anywhere. Furthermore, if becoming employed were to be a problem for a humanities major, then there’s always law school (or some other graduate program, of course).
I find it’s debatable. I’m all for practicality and the idea of being able to get a job after graduation, so because there’s been question of humanities majors getting employment after college, it does worry me. I’m getting a degree in English, and it’s become the butt of all humanities majors jokes. Yet, obviously, you need that degree if you’re wanting to do something in that area, and employers say all the time that they need skills that English and other humanities majors teaches. So, it seems it’s kind of a game of “do it and see.”