The dismissal of the arts and humanities in higher education

When students are applying for their chosen course in the humanities or arts at university they are often faced with the question from their peers or family: ‘So what job is that going to get you?’. As an English Literature student, I, along with many others, have been interrogated about my choice of degree. People often say, ‘An English degree…with this current job market?’. People are praised for choosing a STEM subject, but those who are taking a humanities subject are often criticised for their choices. Now there is no denying that STEM degrees are truly essential for the world, but who’s to say the world would be able to survive without the skills provided by other fields of study. Have those who are dismissive of such degrees never read a book? Watched as film? Listened to music? Consumed any kind of written media? These everyday activities are created by those with a passion for the arts and are essential for keeping humanity creative and less reliant on developing technology.

This dismissal of humanities and arts subjects is also displayed through the closure of courses at certain universities. Due to financial pressures in higher education, several universities have had to shut down some of their courses and the targets for these closures are most often those in the humanities, arts and social science departments. This reflects how universities tend to tackle financial issues by cutting courses which they see as non-essential, which can be detrimental to those studying them. These closures create a reduction in career pathways for students and have detrimental economic effects on certain industries. Institutions claim that the suspension of these courses is to improve the overall quality of the university, allowing other subjects to have access to better equipment and faculties, however sacrifices have to be made from other departments, and ultimately the quality of some student’s education is reducing rather than improving.

It’s necessary to consider how the reduction of creative education affects the world, using the entertainment industry as an example. Following the recent release of Stranger Things season 5, a hugely popular Netflix series, the Duffer Brothers have discussed in their documentary, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, the struggle they faced when writing the episodes and many viewers have been suspicious that the writers have used AI tools such as ChatGPT to help them write the episodes. Screenwriters that make millions from each scene that they write are struggling creatively and the world is still dismissive towards those who study subjects such as film. There was a sense of disappointment amongst audiences regarding the finale of the show, specifically because of the endless plot holes, unanswered questions and ‘cringey’ dialogue spoken by characters. Now how is this relevant to the discussion of humanities degrees? The answer to that lies in the fact that Stranger Things season 5 is an example of how the world is developing a reliance on AI technology as they drift away from creative skills that are learnt from studying subjects in the creative field.

The development of AI technology is truly fascinating and is a highly intelligent advancement, however it is reducing the need for the creative minds. Studying a degree such as my own teaches excellent skills in creativity, analytical thinking and historical knowledge and those who are considering applying for a degree in the arts or humanities shouldn’t be discouraged from pursuing their passions. Those who study subjects in English, History, Philosophy, Art, Sociology, Languages, Film, Media and so many more, are all people who are going to contribute to the world in their own individual way and I hope those that are passionate about studying those subjects, do not feel swayed by this negative stigma that surrounds them.

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