English major, a thing of the past?

 

    Burying the humanities. Not so fast.

The March 6, 2023 New Yorker has an article on the demise of English majors and the humanities in general being taught at universities. Where kids need to spend a fortune and maybe assume life-long debt, they want a degree that will bring them a good job/career. 

I was an English major, history minor. At the time tuition was about $400 a year, a stretch even then. I had a husband who did not want me to go to college and wanted me to contribute to the household income so we could buy a house. I worked part time at a dry cleaner and supplemented my educational costs with loans from my dad, all of which I paid back before starting the cycle the next semester.

I adored my courses. What would Hardy inflict on Tess next? The Eleanors, Roosevelt and Aquitaine, were role models. So many German-based words in Chaucer read in  Middle English. English language development thru the centuries made me understand even more the power of words uttered on newscasts and by politicians.

Okay, reading 12 Greek and/or Roman plays for "scanty background information" was a bit over the top for Early English Drama. I learned from Gammer Guertin's Needle, the important of an item when they are in short supply as well as the necessity to care for what we have. 

What would I do with my degree? I learned from student teaching, I had no desire to control a class room of adolescents. I had ignored how to teach classes because I would have had to give up literature and history classes.

I remember the note "See me!" on the paper I wrote from a psychologist's perspective about the duke killing his last duchess. The teacher told me it was definitely not academic writing and would never be allowed in graduate school. She gave me a smile and an A adding, "Don't do it again."

I couldn't find a journalism job although I had been a cub  reporter for a daily, but did find one writing business development news. Most of my jobs were with a writing component and if it wasn't in iambic pentameter or sonnet format, the importance of arranging words for easy comprehension had become part of my DNA.

I later did a creative writing masters degree in Wales. In answer to my friend, tired of hearing me say, "I want to write fiction," asked, "What's stopping you?" Of course, it was me.

Check out www.dlnelsonwriter.com to see the 17 books I have had published.

Fortunately, money was never a motivator for me. I don't care about brand names. A small color-co-ordinate house or flat makes me happy. By moving to Europe I was able to go 20 years carless. 

I earned enough.

There were so many companies who do harm to the world and despite great pay would leave me awake at night with guilt. I was lucky to work for non-profits or co-operatives. I even found my way back to journalism late in my career.

What I learned in my humanities courses gave me joy, brought a richness to my life by the viewpoints and knowledge gleaned from reading, research and listening to my profs.   

Do I regret my educational choices? Not in the least. The modern parts of living, I learned along the way and am still learning. Being an English major/history minor made me a more complete human being who could still earn a living.