Prompt: Part 1: We’ve been working towards a definition of the Humanities. For your second journal entry, think about how you’d explain their significance/why the humanities matter: what do you feel you gain personally by studying and working within the humanities? What do you think you gain professionally? What do you think of claim(s) for the broader social value of the humanities? Use Helen Small’s introduction to The Value of the Humanities as a starting point for your response. Part 2: Part 2 may feel somewhat disconnected, but one of our course goals is precisely to create bridges from your academic study to your professional work. Write a brief description of the kind of work you enjoy doing and/or think you’re well equipped to do. If you could invent your own job, what would it be? What kind of job is this, or what is the main purpose of this job? What kind of tasks would you perform? Which of your skills, training, or experiences would this job call on? How might you explain how your undergraduate study (including your humanities degree) has prepared you for it? In general, you want to think about the nature of the work, its specific responsibilities, the environment you’d work in, who you’d work with, and your qualifications and temperament/disposition.

Part 1: The introduction to Helen Small’s, The Value of the Humanities is primarily comprised of defenses for humanities. Many of these defenses discuss the meaning and (obviously) the value of the humanities within cultural, societal, and political contexts, yet I was drawn to Small’s third defense. The “least trusted line of defense” of the humanities regards the contribution the humanities make to our individual and collective happiness (Small, 5). This can also go along with her ideas of the humanities’ ‘intrinsic value’ on page 6. The humanities, unlike natural sciences, have meaning because of the people who engage with them. The passion and values that people assign to disciplines within the humanities are endless. Explanations and theories can never truly be right or wrong, as the humanities allow for a variety of viewpoints. In a personal sense, studying various disciplines within the humanities has not only brought me a sense of happiness and belonging (similar to Small’s third defense), but it has also helped me grow into a multi-faceted individual. I can see problems in the world that can have multiple solutions and consequences for different groups of people, and I honestly feel as though I’ve grown more empathetic towards people that I don’t necessarily agree with in political, ideological, or social settings. I think that my personal gains are also valuable within a professional context. I’m able to work with others and mediate problems that arise by looking at each solution carefully. Especially within an interdisciplinary context, the humanities has challenged me to use critical thinking skills and different areas of my brain that I feel I am able to adapt to different professional environments and ways of thinking. As our discussion said last week, the humanities, unlike sciences, is expansive and can bring heighten our perspectives and ways of viewing the world around us.

Part 2: I’m not sure I have a great answer to this prompt. My dream job isn’t exactly a job, but it’s something that I feel well-equipped to do. I want to be an author and publish books/works that mean something to people. I love creating characters, worlds, and problems that people can get lost in, especially when they need an escape from the world around them. It feels a little silly to write it out, as it feels like I’m a kid answering the question: “What would you like to be when you grow up?” I don’t know if I can really say what the purpose of writing is. For me, I think the purpose of writing (in the context of fictional works) is to connect readers to different ideas/themes/people/settings that they may not be exposed to in their day to day lives. If I were to answer in a regular conversation, I guess I’d say that there really isn’t a purpose to writing (again, in the context of fictional works. Non-fiction works have a purpose in exploring and passing on ideas/knowledge). I write because it feels right. It makes me feel whole and it’s something I genuinely love, even when the process of rewriting, drafting, editing, researching, and rewriting again gets frustrating. I’ve had a lot of experiences and classes regarding creative writing (and writing in general). The classes I’ve taken at UNE have ranged from creative non-fiction to grant writing, which emphasizes the variety of writing forms. Classes such as these have enabled me to take on different forms of writing without sacrificing my own personal voice. As an interdisciplinary studies major, I’ve taken many classes in the English, history, and philosophy disciplines as well as many natural science courses. This variety has forced me to use different parts of my brain and helped me understand different viewpoints and ways of thinking. As a writer, an interdisciplinary background not only helps me create plotlines, but also helps me develop realistic characters that have rich backgrounds and ways of viewing the world. It also helps me write characters with identities different than my own. Most of the time, writing is solitary, but I’ve learned how to incorporate others into the process through my classes with Professor Miller. The act of writing can be accomplished alone, but I’d love a space to collaborate with others through editing, brainstorming, or reading sessions.