When you tell someone that you’re working toward a Bachelor’s Degree, the line of questioning that follows is fairly predictable: “What’s your major?” and “What do you plan to do with your degree?” are typically at the forefront of the conversation. As many humanities majors will readily admit, the latter question can be both frustrating and daunting in a culture that promotes wealth, fame, and power as the end to which your presumed task is to discern the means. There’s never any shortage of people armed with salary statistics and unemployment rates, ready and eager to disparage a degree in Philosophy or Art History. Although—and perhaps because—these stats are often grossly misrepresented, we can’t necessarily blame our family and friends for their insistence upon the so-called “practical” fields of study. As Pulitzer-Prize-winner and MIT professor Junot Diaz remarks, “We live in a time where everything is monetized. […]These days universities have been deranged by the logic of the cash nexus, by the corporate ethos which seeks to extract profit from everything.” Indeed, when many universities are marketed to look more like degree-mills than institutions of higher education, it’s only logical to ask a student, “What do you plan to ‘do’ with your degree?”
The fact is, I’m one month from graduating with a B.A. in English, and only recently have I been able to answer this question with any degree of certainty. Contrary to what you might think, my lengthy deliberation did not derive from a lack of options. Rather, it was the surprising variety of prospects that left me weighing the pros and cons for several semesters’ time. I transferred to UM-Dearborn from Schoolcraft College in 2011, unsure of what exactly I wanted to “do,” but knowing that I was finally ready to finish what I’d started 5 years earlier. I defaulted to a subject that I knew I would enjoy, trusting that my love of reading and writing would carry me through some of the more demanding semesters that surely lay ahead. It ended up being one of the most challenging, and most rewarding, things I’ve ever done. Even during those late nights and semesters that I thought would never end, I never regretted my decision to pursue an English degree at UM-Dearborn—and believe me, it’s not because being an English major is easy.
There seems to be some general ambiguity amongst the people I talk to about what exactly it is that English majors do in the classroom. Some conjure images from high school literature courses, or envision endless sentence-structure diagrams splayed across a blackboard. Others imagine a glorified book club where we discuss how a novel makes us feel. The reality is that English is an incredibly diverse discipline that uses texts as a vehicle through which to think critically about the world around us. As an English major, I’ve learned that we cannot separate texts from the cultural context in which they are created, and it is therefore incumbent on us to study every aspect of that culture—from politics, to religion, to social structures, to philosophy, to economics—you name it, I’ve probably written an essay on it. This has empowered me with the language of a variety of critical discourses, and now enables me to engage thoughtfully in conversations that fall outside of my particular area of expertise, as well as my immediate comfort zone. Thus, the study of English not only trains students in critical thinking, but also in diversity, because when we analyze art, we necessarily discover our own blind-spots and prejudices. Our biases are exposed; our assumptions challenged. As one of my professors recently asserted, the humanities are unequivocally a “self-correcting” field of study.
If you’re looking for the more immediately practical outcomes of an English degree, I have those to boot. The study of English literature has furnished me with an extraordinary set of research skills, including a strong understanding of what constitutes quality, reliable information that will hold up under scrutiny. Moreover, I now know how to structure complex arguments and communicate my ideas. For the past 7 years, I’ve held a full-time job for a Tier 1 supplier to Ford Motor Company, and I cannot stress enough the importance of effective communication skills in the professional world. That they will be understood is an assumption far too many individuals take for granted, and there is nothing more frustrating than time, money, and resources wasted on poor communication. Furthermore, communication skills are at an increasing premium amid the new media environment. When journalists, bloggers, advertisers, and politicians are all vying for public attention, the ability to effectively convey an idea is vital. Even more important is your ability to disseminate and think critically about the information you receive. As the late David Foster Wallace said, “Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think.” In this way, the humanities are still fighting the good fight, trying “to humanize people in a culture that does everything to turn them into cogs” (Diaz).
David McCullough of the National Endowment for the Humanities asserts that “you can't learn to write without writing, and, in many ways, you can't learn to think without thinking. Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard.” And that’s why it’s so rewarding. I was speaking with one of my professors recently and we joked that the English discipline effectively ruins a person, because once you develop and hone that critical thinking faculty, you’ll never be able to look at life the same way again. Of course we say that with a smirk, but the truth is we’re only half-kidding. Here’s the deal: I’m not advocating that Bioengineering majors need to exchange their textbook on Molecular Nanotechnology for a Jane Austen novel. I’m just adding my voice to the existing chorus of those who still sing the praises of an education in the humanities. As for me, my studies in English literature have instilled such an acute awareness of contemporary social problems that I’ll be applying to programs for a Master’s in Social Work this fall. I know of English majors who have gone on to law school, and still others who have taken up work in advertising and public relations. And of course there are the obvious choices of publishing, journalism, and teaching at various levels. And hey, if you’re still hung up on the wealth, fame, and power trope, consider Mitt Romney, Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, or any number of American CEOs who hold B.A.’s in the humanities.
Bottom line: It’s okay if you’re not entirely sure how you want to use your degree just yet. If you’re a humanities concentrator, supplement your major as you see fit, but don’t let the naysayers weigh you down. Your education will be largely what you make of it, and so will your degree. That’s why I will always count my B.A. in English among my greatest accomplishments in life—and why I will be forever grateful to the professors who supported my personal and professional development at UM-Dearborn.
Rachel Garrison is an English Honors Scholar who also works as a Student Mentor under Prof. Sheryl Pearson. She will be graduating with a Bachelor of the Arts in English this April.
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