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From: linda@amdcad.UUCP (Linda Seltzer)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Grad school and humanities
Message-ID: <2136@amdcad.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 26-Jul-85 13:50:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: amdcad.2136
Posted: Fri Jul 26 13:50:39 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Jul-85 00:39:57 EDT
References: <273@cmu-cs-g.ARPA> <841@ccice5.UUCP> <2222@topaz.ARPA> <576@usl.UUCP>
Organization: AMDCAD, Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 38
Summary: Humanities studies

> >> (apparently in the humanities,
> >> graduate school is something you do for fun, and to prove that your parents
> >> can afford it or something--I don't know.) 

> >	Just a doggone minute!  That isn't necessarily the case.
> >With the twit you mentioned (edited out for brevity) it may have
> >been true.  It is *not* true of the English, history, philosophy,
> >etc. majors *I* knew that went on to grad school.  They went on
> >for the same reasons anyone in CS or EE or any other discipline
> >would...often because they need the advanced degree for a job, 
> >and they have fallen into the inconvenient habit of eating daily.
> >-- 
> 
> Hm... I would have to disagree. Seems that people who go to 
> undergraduate humanities are as described (rich parents, etc.),
> and then they flock to computer science for a quickie masters
> for the buck. Doctorates are another story. I mean, how can
> you become a yuppie with an MA in history? And then there was


Well, I have seen many extremely wealthy students in humanities
school, but usually they are not the most talented of the
creative artists.  They usually have a certain degree of skill,
but their work often lacks emotional depth.  It's a shame that
they often take away fellowships that could be awarded to low
income students.

As a woman I majored in EE first (and completed the M.S.) to
do computer music and to be able to earn a living.  Now I
work part time and go to music school.  Discrimination against
women is far worse in humanities than in engineering because
(1) in companies eventually the company has to make some money,
and a woman can be rewarded for contributing to the company's
earnings; (2) there are objective measurement standards in
engineering (the program works or it doesn't) (3) many people
in the humanities are less rational and more predujiced.  Even if they
pretend to be very liberal they often behave in a contradictory manner
when it comes to women's rights.