The education cuts: oh the Humanities!

Since undertaking Film and Literature at Warwick, I have had to endure a barrage of derogatory comments insinuating the supposed lesser value of my degree. Words such as ‘fun’ and ‘nice’ have been thrown into the mix – or perhaps the worst one yet: ‘Nicole’s just doing film and lit.’ Just?! I was incensed. Incredulous. You’d never hear someone attach such flimsy and insubstantial descriptions to the likes of Maths, Stats or Complexity Science.
A similar reaction was produced by the recent Independent article claiming that Humanities subjects, most notably at A-level, are ‘soft’ subjects and therefore not worth as much as the harder and subsequently more valuable subjects, such as Maths and Science. The assumption is that Humanities, largely because it’s based on interpretation and reflection, is easier to swindle your way through without as much knowledge or hard work, whereas scientific subjects are difficult, scholarly and significant.

The debate is as relevant as ever, considering recent cuts to higher education funding, with financial aid being focused towards particular subjects over others. Even the Warwick SU is hosting a debate on whether humanities funding should be cut. Of course the government believe that utilitarian subjects should be funded for the good of society, because supposedly irrelevant subjects often encourage students to question authority. As ever, the government are considering what is more beneficial for themselves than for the majority.

It is futile to argue which is harder. Admittedly, I have no experience of studying sciences past GCSE and that’s because I found them complex, difficult to understand and unrewarding. That’s not to say however that sciences are therefore a more challenging, stimulating and thus valuable subject to study at either A-level or degree level. I defy anyone who achieved an A* in Physics or Maths to accomplish the same grade in my Humanities A-levels. I’m not sure I even knew where the science block was at my sixth form college.

It may sound pretentious and full of self-satisfaction, and there are of course some exceptions to the rule; namely those geniuses among us who excel in every subject known to man. However my point is that difficulty is personal. Unquantifiable. As the old adage goes ‘the question is only hard if you don’t know the answer’.

Can anyone live through a day without somehow engaging with the humanities, whether it be through music, literature or social interaction? It is here that I find opinions most frequently diverge. Most people, of course, will not condemn music, literature, art or history as being without value. It is the fact that they do not translate directly into jobs, or, as they see it, ‘contribute to the economy’.

Of course I could embark on a whimsical tirade about how humanities bring beauty, creativity and meaning to a world otherwise dominated by the clinical concepts of logic and objectivity. But whether humanities are associated with emotion and subjectivity or not, it is hook, line and sinker a valuable subject for the professional world.

The Council for Industry and Higher Education commissioned research to analyse the distinctive ‘employability profiles’ of graduates in different disciplines, and found that the competencies valued by employers were developed strongly by students of sometimes surprising subjects. For example, if you are seeking a graduate with capabilities such as adaptability, creativity, decisiveness, initiative, organisation and communication, such qualities are typically given more emphasis in the study of humanities than in that of physics, mathematics or engineering. Subjects such as history, philosophy, the arts and, yes, even film provide an informed and critical perspective that is notably absent in heavily data-driven disciplines; they provide cultural richness, contribute to our identities as people, inspire, provoke and promote individual thought.

So next time someone associates my degree or any other humanities subjects with the texture of a duvet cover or loo paper, forgive me for calling them a philistine, but they quite clearly don’t understand how much work goes into completing a humanities degree nor how indispensable they are in the real world.