[net.women] Grad school and humanities

features@ihuxf.UUCP (M.A. Zeszutko) (06/24/85)

> (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.) 
>                                      Cheryl
Cheryl,
	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.
-- 

aMAZon @ AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL; ihnp4!ihuxf!features

sigma@usl.UUCP (Spiros Triantafyllopoulos) (06/26/85)

In article <2620@ihuxf.UUCP> features@ihuxf.UUCP (M.A. Zeszutko) writes:
>> (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.) 
>>                                      Cheryl
>Cheryl,
>	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.
>-- 
>
>aMAZon @ AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL; ihnp4!ihuxf!features

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
a classmate in Anthropology who loaded/unloaded Bud Light trucks
40 hours/week to get a BA in general studies (:-? :-? :-?)

Spiros ut-sally!usl!sigma but not for long, heading for ST@GMR

lonetto@phri.UUCP (Michael Lonetto) (07/02/85)

> >> (apparently in the humanities,
> >> graduate school is something you do for fun, and to prove that your parent

> >Cheryl,
> >	Just a doggone minute!  That isn't necessarily the case.
> >  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

> 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
> a classmate in Anthropology who loaded/unloaded Bud Light trucks
> 40 hours/week to get a BA in general studies (:-? :-? :-?)
> 
> Spiros ut-sally!usl!sigma but not for long, heading for ST@GMR

As anyone who has spent a few years at a competetive grad school 
( Harvard, Princeton, etc) can tell you, NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT 
MIND WOULD DO IT FOR FUN.  Especially people in the humanities 
who are paid even less than students in the sciences(who are
starving themselves).  At Princeton the graduate students were
almost uniformly middle class, and if Mom and Dad had paid for 
the BA that had just was about it.  Given the hardship it was a 
wonder that they WEREN'T all rich.
-- 
____________________

Michael Lonetto  PHRI  NYC  (allegra!phri!lonetto)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LIFE IS A TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

linda@amdcad.UUCP (Linda Seltzer) (07/26/85)

> >> (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.

sophie@mnetor.UUCP (Sophie Quigley) (07/27/85)

> 
> 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.

Oh, what are you now, a man?    <-: <-:
sorry, I couldn't resist.
-- 
Sophie Quigley
{allegra|decvax|ihnp4|linus|watmath}!utzoo!mnetor!sophie

ellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades) (07/31/85)

Well, folks, this here history/literature major is going
to write her bachelor's thesis, get the hell out of school, and
go play folk music on street corners...I'm computer illiterate
and intend to stay that way!
Besides, after three years at Reed, I have come to hate school,
all school, any school, and particularly grad school.

Anyone have a band that could use a hammer dulcimer?

Ellen Eades

-- 
-    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
	"Who's been repeating all that hard stuff to you?"
	"I read it in a book," said Alice.
-    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
	tektronix!reed!ellen OR tektronix!reed!motel6!ellen

linda@amdcad.UUCP (Linda Seltzer) (07/31/85)

In article <1610@mnetor.UUCP>, sophie@mnetor.UUCP (Sophie Quigley) writes:
> > 
> > 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.
> 
> Oh, what are you now, a man?    <-: <-:
> sorry, I couldn't resist.
> -- 

Why do you ask?  Are you looking for a husband?  Sorry, but I can resist.