Whenever I tell people that I am a Literary Studies major, they get that look on their face, tilt their head and ask “And what do you want to do with that?” And when I say that I don’t know yet, I just feel the condescension increase. “Oh… well, you have time… what do you think you want to do?”
I study stories: books, poetry, essays, plays, and even movies. And people don’t seem to think that’s a real major, or at least not a real useful one. They tend to think that I’m that person who’s going to devote themselves entirely to their major, get out in the real world, find out my major applies to nothing except teaching unwilling children, and end up with an unfulfilling desk job… and probably get fired for daydreaming. That makes my future look pretty bleak.
But I don’t think my major is useless.
I actually think my major is incredibly important, powerful even. Here’s why…
I study words. My major gives me the ability to understand and interact with content that isn’t necessarily easy to understand and interact with.I can pull apart texts, analyze them, and piece them back together. And in a world full of manipulative wordsmiths, that is an incredibly invaluable skill. I’m not saying that I can’t be deceived or mislead. But I do understand to not take words at face value. And I’m learning how to pull them apart and recognize what is really being said.
I study stories. A lot of people don’t realize it, but stories are incredibly important. People connect, communicate, and live through stories. Stories allow us to experience things that we could never even hope to experience in one lifetime, even the most spectacular lifetime. And I get to read stories every day. I live a new life every time I open a new book, play, or poem. I become a new person and I see the world through their eyes. And stories are a huge part of our culture. Just think about Harry Potter, or Hunger Games. He who controls the stories has a heavy influence on the culture.
I study writing. Regardless of whether or not you think the analysis or literary texts is useful, you can’t deny that writing skills are useful. And my major teaches me how to write. I’m not saying that I’m the best writer in the world; I mean I just started that last sentence with the word “and. ”But I am learning how to become a good writer. My major requires me to write more than almost any other major and writing is applicable to a wide range of jobs.I admit that not a lot of employers will jump at my ability to understand what Hamlet is talking about in his “to be or not be” speech. But plenty of employers will recognize that I spent four years learning how to write critical essays, and assume that I can write other things as well.
So next time you get shot down for wanting to pursue a Literary Studies major, just remember that it teaches you invaluable skills. You can learn how to analyze and understand complicated ideas and themes. You get to read a lot, which is probably a big reason you wanted to pursue this major. And you learn how to become a solid writer. Literary Studies is not useless and it can teach you a lot of valuable skills.
