What are you going to do with a degree in that?

Abstract

In an era in which the imperatives of global economic competition prompt institutions of higher education to promote vocational practicality and efficiency over all else, advocates of the humanities have struggled to articulate the distinctive value and contribution of our disciplines. This article seeks to develop an argument directed not at fellow academics, but at friends and parents who ask incredulously, ‘What are you going to do with a degree in that?’ After discussing the historical shifts that have led to the present-day predicament in which majoring in English, philosophy, religion, art or a foreign language seems supremely impractical, I argue that the most important resource necessary to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace is a clear, eloquent, impassioned voice. The learning exercises at the foundation of excellent humanities-based education may appear to lack any utilitarian benefit, but their long-term effect is the development of each student’s individual voice, which is priceless.