Why the lack of men majoring in humanities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People with analytical skills and who can write. That is why the majority of the consultants we hire are humanities majors.

+100

It’s predicted this is the area we will need more than ever with AI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pointing to examples of people with humanities degrees who are successful, and then generalizing from that, is about the level of argumentation I would expect from a humanities major. There are plenty of smokers who live to 90, maybe you should do that too.

Smoke or live to 90? Your poor, non-humanities writing makes your point unclear.

Oh thank you. Now maybe I can get a humanities major to explain to me what “pedantic” means.

Oh, you’re welcome.

[Anonymous]

Does the new generation of male still care about finding a mate? I think the trend is less men desire a relationship, not to mention a marriage. There are a lot of asexuals this generation.

[Anonymous]

English major here: Here’s what I think the answer is:

1. As college costs have escalated, questions of ROI have become more salient; this shifts some from humanities to majors that are perceived as more commercial—I think this is the dominant consideration, tbh;

2. The humanities themselves are not what they once were; there has been an increasing focus on questions of representation and various forms of identity groups where white males are perceived as “the enemy,” and its not unfair to say that, as a rough first cut, humanities now = critical oppression studies. Wherever you come down on the merits of that view of the world, it should be understandable why it might not be as interesting to everyone, particularly the designated villains of the current story. People can take a hint and tell where they are not wanted—hear often enough that people are tired “stale pale males” and its pretty easy to conclude “this is not where i want to place my intellectual focus.” People get punished grade-wise for disagreeing with the political priors of their professor in a lot of cases; unacceptable risk in the current economic climate.

3. The kind of young men who are interested in studying the humanities in college are mostly interested in the idea of a coherent intellectual tradition. This is hard to find now, the deconstruction of the old canon and the lack of any coherent alternative canon makes everything isolated, a one-off, with no coherent story anymore. This reality is off putting to some, a point even those who think changes to the canon were long overdue should be able to understand.

4. Also, many people want to study the humanities because they love old books; many of the professors teaching in the humanities seem to hate them; there’s a disconnect. The mean-spirited nature of critical theories as applied to great works are is off-putting to some. That’s not the only way to do the humanities, but it’s the one mostly on offer now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This isn't hard. A lot of boys just prefer math. They use a different part of their brains. Boys typically scorer higher in math than in English on the SATs.

Male thinking is generally black and white, which is what math is. While they may do well in humanities subjects, they aren't as interested in subjects that require introspection. They just want to do things, problem solve, not sit there and contemplate.

Of course, this is a generalization, but I think it's true for most boys.

My sons are equally good in STEM as in humanities/English. I was similar and my dad talked me into majoring in STEM. My spouse majored in a language/Econ but has been in IT for 3 decades. If you are highly intelligent with a T10/20 degree u will do great in the job market.

Our sons liked science more up until HS and now they love history, ethics, philosophy, language. They can score 5s on calc and science APs- just as easily as the history/English,

They chose to go into history/language/international policy, one already has a job (other still in college). They went Ivy- but plenty of work for those with writing/critical thinking skills. Look at our country w/out those skills….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will my son be able to attract a mate if he majors in the humanities?

People who major in the humanities are truly educated, in ways that STEM majors are not.

Yes, if your son goes on to law school or business school or something else that produces an attractive income, he will have no problem attracting girls. Lots of them.

Folks...if you freely admit that a humanities major needs to pursue another graduate degree in order to produce an attractive income...well, then you are answering OP's question as to why so few people (and even fewer men) are majoring in them.

Lost in this entire thread was OP saying that when looking at a HS instagram page a whopping 13 people in total plan to major in humanities. That's anywhere from maybe 2% to 10% of a graduating class.

My friends and kids with humanities and business from T10/Ivies didn’t need a graduate degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't hard. A lot of boys just prefer math. They use a different part of their brains. Boys typically scorer higher in math than in English on the SATs.

Male thinking is generally black and white, which is what math is. While they may do well in humanities subjects, they aren't as interested in subjects that require introspection. They just want to do things, problem solve, not sit there and contemplate.

Of course, this is a generalization, but I think it's true for most boys.

My sons are equally good in STEM as in humanities/English. I was similar and my dad talked me into majoring in STEM. My spouse majored in a language/Econ but has been in IT for 3 decades. If you are highly intelligent with a T10/20 degree u will do great in the job market.

Our sons liked science more up until HS and now they love history, ethics, philosophy, language. They can score 5s on calc and science APs- just as easily as the history/English,

They chose to go into history/language/international policy, one already has a job (other still in college). They went Ivy- but plenty of work for those with writing/critical thinking skills. Look at our country w/out those skills….

A lot of the big consultancies hire humanities degrees out of the top schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't hard. A lot of boys just prefer math. They use a different part of their brains. Boys typically scorer higher in math than in English on the SATs.

Male thinking is generally black and white, which is what math is. While they may do well in humanities subjects, they aren't as interested in subjects that require introspection. They just want to do things, problem solve, not sit there and contemplate.

Of course, this is a generalization, but I think it's true for most boys.

My sons are equally good in STEM as in humanities/English. I was similar and my dad talked me into majoring in STEM. My spouse majored in a language/Econ but has been in IT for 3 decades. If you are highly intelligent with a T10/20 degree u will do great in the job market.

Our sons liked science more up until HS and now they love history, ethics, philosophy, language. They can score 5s on calc and science APs- just as easily as the history/English,

They chose to go into history/language/international policy, one already has a job (other still in college). They went Ivy- but plenty of work for those with writing/critical thinking skills. Look at our country w/out those skills….

What did you say about "writing skills"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't hard. A lot of boys just prefer math. They use a different part of their brains. Boys typically scorer higher in math than in English on the SATs.

Male thinking is generally black and white, which is what math is. While they may do well in humanities subjects, they aren't as interested in subjects that require introspection. They just want to do things, problem solve, not sit there and contemplate.

Of course, this is a generalization, but I think it's true for most boys.

Math is not black and white at all.
-Mathematician

math is black and white in that the answer is either right or wrong. The answer is not subjective, like humanities.

Higher math does not consist of problem sets where the answer is "2."

Sure, but it's still less subjective than humanities subjects.

DS is a dual CS/math major, and DH was an engineering major. Neither liked humanities all that much due to its subjective nature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't hard. A lot of boys just prefer math. They use a different part of their brains. Boys typically scorer higher in math than in English on the SATs.

Male thinking is generally black and white, which is what math is. While they may do well in humanities subjects, they aren't as interested in subjects that require introspection. They just want to do things, problem solve, not sit there and contemplate.

Of course, this is a generalization, but I think it's true for most boys.

My sons are equally good in STEM as in humanities/English. I was similar and my dad talked me into majoring in STEM. My spouse majored in a language/Econ but has been in IT for 3 decades. If you are highly intelligent with a T10/20 degree u will do great in the job market.

Our sons liked science more up until HS and now they love history, ethics, philosophy, language. They can score 5s on calc and science APs- just as easily as the history/English,

They chose to go into history/language/international policy, one already has a job (other still in college). They went Ivy- but plenty of work for those with writing/critical thinking skills. Look at our country w/out those skills….

A lot of the big consultancies hire humanities degrees out of the top schools.

Here's the thing: if you are a humanities major, you need to graduate from top schools to get a good paying job. The rest either end up in some low paying job or need to shell out more money for a masters to get a good paying job.

To be fair, some of the STEM majors like bio and physics also have a hard time getting a good paying job with just an undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will my son be able to attract a mate if he majors in the humanities?

People who major in the humanities are truly educated, in ways that STEM majors are not.

Yes, if your son goes on to law school or business school or something else that produces an attractive income, he will have no problem attracting girls. Lots of them.

Folks...if you freely admit that a humanities major needs to pursue another graduate degree in order to produce an attractive income...well, then you are answering OP's question as to why so few people (and even fewer men) are majoring in them.

Lost in this entire thread was OP saying that when looking at a HS instagram page a whopping 13 people in total plan to major in humanities. That's anywhere from maybe 2% to 10% of a graduating class.

My friends and kids with humanities and business from T10/Ivies didn’t need a graduate degree.

It's unclear if you are saying they dual-majored in humanities and business, or not. However, unclear why you are even referencing business...because that's what people are basically saying...major in something practical like business.

Also, you bring up another point that nobody wants to admit. You have to attend a top school if you think you can parlay a humanities degree into a top job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does the new generation of male still care about finding a mate? I think the trend is less men desire a relationship, not to mention a marriage. There are a lot of asexuals this generation.

It's fewer men, not less men.

And you could not be more wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will my son be able to attract a mate if he majors in the humanities?

People who major in the humanities are truly educated, in ways that STEM majors are not.

Yes, if your son goes on to law school or business school or something else that produces an attractive income, he will have no problem attracting girls. Lots of them.

Folks...if you freely admit that a humanities major needs to pursue another graduate degree in order to produce an attractive income...well, then you are answering OP's question as to why so few people (and even fewer men) are majoring in them.

Lost in this entire thread was OP saying that when looking at a HS instagram page a whopping 13 people in total plan to major in humanities. That's anywhere from maybe 2% to 10% of a graduating class.

My friends and kids with humanities and business from T10/Ivies didn’t need a graduate degree.

It's unclear if you are saying they dual-majored in humanities and business, or not. However, unclear why you are even referencing business...because that's what people are basically saying...major in something practical like business.

Also, you bring up another point that nobody wants to admit. You have to attend a top school if you think you can parlay a humanities degree into a top job.

exactly. Cue the ".. humanities majojr who is now a lawyer making big bucks.." I guess that humanities undergrad major lawyer doesn't have the necessary critical thinking skills to realize that they also needed another degree to get that lawyer job.

[Anonymous]

Better than a business major frat bro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Better than a business major frat bro.

I don't like frats, but if those business major frat boys are able to get good paying jobs out of college then that's better than a humanities degree graduate who is getting paid very little, wanting taxpayers to pay off their student debt.