It has been a long, long (long) time since I was in college, and my memories of it are both sharp and hazy. Certain images and experiences remain crystal clear, but many of the people and places have faded into oblivion. What I mostly remember is that A) my academic performance was spotty at best; B) I made the Dean’s List in Partying every semester; and C) I was impatient to get it over with and strike out on my own.
I could have made more of the experience, but then again, I could have made less of it. I did what I could to plow through, and managed to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in English, a minor in History, and a healthy dose of Philosophy courses.
You will not be surprised to learn that employers were not exactly beating down the door of someone with a degree in English, a minor in History, and a working knowledge of Descartes and Lao-Tzu. I graduated during the middle of a recession. All the employers who weren’t going to hire me anyway had an even better excuse not to hire me.
You also will not be surprised to learn that those studies have fallen out of favor with contemporary college students. A recent New Yorker article noted that during the past decade, the study of English and history at the collegiate level has fallen by one-third, and humanities enrollment in the United States has declined by 17%.
It’s not just an American thing, either. Roughly 80% of countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation reported falling humanities enrollments in the past decade. Translated, that means many university students in rich countries no longer think studying the humanities will put them on the fast track to professional success.
This trend says a lot about what college students value these days. But before we get to that, let’s backtrack to my own experience as someone heavily invested in the humanities during my university years.
I entered college knowing exactly what I wanted to do for a living when I graduated. Since I was a kid I knew I wanted to be a writer. When I hit my teen years I zeroed in on journalism. In high school, I joined an organization where you worked with professional journalists and learned how to be a reporter.
I started college at the University of South Carolina to study journalism. They had a very good journalism school, but I spent most of my time getting stoned and listening to records. After a couple of years, I transferred to Appalachian State University – where I still got stoned (and listened to records!) but put more effort into my studies.
App State didn’t have a journalism school, so I majored in English. That’s the only reason I graduated with an English degree. I worked for the student newspaper, preparing for the career in journalism I eventually had.
I didn’t look at the humanities as anything more or less than a means to an end. The end was a college degree. I’m not entirely convinced, even today, that it was even necessary. There was a time, not terribly long ago, when newspaper reporters apprenticed on the job following high school. College was an option but not a requirement.
There is probably too much emphasis on college in the United States and elsewhere. Millions of young people would be better served going to a technical/trade school or straight into an apprenticeship. They would save themselves a whole lot of time and money, and the country would not be saddled with trillions of dollars in student debt.
But that’s a different topic for a later day. For now, let’s focus on young people who feel a need or desire to head to college…..
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Many of today’s university students look at the humanities as not just impractical from a career standpoint, but also too wedded to old cultural mores.
Per the New Yorker: “For decades, the average proportion of humanities students in every class hovered around 15% nationally, following the American economy up in boom times and down in bearish periods. Enrollment numbers of the past decade defy these trends, however.”
Even during times of economic growth, humanities enrollments have kept falling, and today “the roller coaster is in free fall.” At the same time, there has been a big uptick in degrees awarded in health sciences, medical sciences, natural sciences, and engineering.
That’s the practical end of the trend – you stand a much better chance of getting a good job by majoring in engineering or the sciences. On the cultural end, students in 2023 simply cannot relate to classical literature from previous centuries. The words and sentences don’t translate very well to the age of the text message and social media post.
What’s more, student enrollments in 2023 are much more ethnically and culturally diverse than they were even when I was in college 40 years ago. Again, from the New Yorker:
“Tara K. Menon, a junior professor who joined the English faculty in 2021, linked the shift to students arriving at college with a sense that the unenlightened past had nothing left to teach. At Harvard, as elsewhere, courses that can be seen to approach an idea of canon, such as Humanities 10, an intensive, application-only survey, have been the focus of student concerns about too few Black artists in syllabi, or Eurocentric biases.”
I won’t get into that debate right now, other than to say that if you go to college to study humanities, you need exposure to the full lineup – classic European arts/literature and all the work from elsewhere in the world.
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Of greater interest to me is what we should strive to achieve during our university years. The main reason I went to college was because it was expected of me, and I’m sure I wasn’t alone in that regard. I briefly entertained thoughts of roaming around for a year after high school but was quickly talked out of it by my parents.
I can’t confess to having had a huge curiosity about or passion for university life. It was mostly just another 4-5 years of doing what was expected of me. Only in retrospect have I come to appreciate the value of being exposed to fields of study I might never have come into contact with otherwise – everything from Eastern philosophy and Impressionist art to modern American drama.
Back then, just like today, there were essentially two schools of thought (punny!) about the value of a college education. One is that it should enrich you intellectually and foster personal growth. The other is that it should help you land a good job.
Since I went to state schools comprised mostly of middle-class students, the bigger emphasis was probably on landing a job. Had I gone to a private, liberal arts school, the pendulum might have swung in the other direction.
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One day in the not-distant future – sooner than I’m probably ready – our two daughters will go to college. My wife and I have discussed this, as all parents do. We want our daughters to use college as a place to grow academically, personally and culturally – and a place to learn practical skills that will help them earn a decent living.
Both of our daughters are very creative people. One leans toward the visual arts, and has produced some amazing drawings and paintings. The other leans toward the dramatic arts, and has created a series of music/drama videos that are deeply imaginative and often powerful.
We certainly want them to pursue these interests, through college and beyond. If they choose to pursue a career in some artistic field, I’m sure we will encourage them.
But…
We also want them to have a Plan B – which means putting part (a big part) of their academic focus on something practical. I don’t think these two things are or should be mutually exclusive. If they want to major in a humanities field, fine. But also build up a lot of credits in science, math or business. If they want to major in a science, great. But also study the arts.
Looking back on it, I might have minored in something like restaurant management instead of history. Even though I knew I wanted to be a writer/journalist, I still might have benefited from having a Plan B in a business field.
Similarly, the students today who eschew the humanities in favor of engineering might consider minoring in something related to the humanities. Humanities can teach you how to create, how to think, how to empathize, how to communicate, how to relate to different cultures – all of which are important skills in today’s global economy.
In a couple of years our oldest daughter will be researching different universities and fields of study. A voice in my head will be telling her to choose carefully, choose wisely, follow your heart and your head, focus on a place that will enrich you intellectually, culturally, and personally, and that will challenge you and help you grow as a person, because this can be a life-forming experience.
And another voice in my head will be telling her to not overthink it – it’s a few short years in a lifetime that spans decades. The important part comes later, when you’re long gone from college and fully immersed in adulthood. Learn how to live and earn a living.
I’m sure my parents had the same voices in their heads all those centuries ago.
Note: The photo is of future U.S. Sen. John Blutarsky, esteemed graduate of Faber College, which famously proclaimed, “Knowledge is Good.” He is flanked by his fellow distinguished alum, Pinto and Flounder. And if you have to ask, you are probably too young…..
Vance Cariaga 