Knowledge as Enrichment

 When I was a Yale undergraduate, I hated being asked what my major was. "Medieval studies? What will you do with that?", was the inevitable question. When I went on to Oxford and studied Old and Middle English, the questioning continued. I usually answered, "I am opening a medieval shop," to shut down further discussion.

A Medieval Female Statue
John Flaxman (1755-1826)
Photo Credit:UCL Culture [CC BY-NC-SA] 

Anyone who studies the humanities, or "soft" degrees, will have faced the same judgemental, bewildered queries. The implication is that these subjects have no value. Indeed we've become so narrow and utilitarian that unless a degree leads specifically to a specialised career, it's considered by many to be a waste of time, money and resources. Kemi Badenoch [present leader of the Conservative Party] has pledged to end "rip-off" degrees such as English, anthropology and psychology because, in her view, they provide weak job prospects. (Ignore for now the £125bn the creative industries are worth annually to the UK, or the 2.4 million people they employ.)...

My own "rip-off" degree led to my writing 100 Horrid Henry stories, millions of books sold worldwide and countless kids becoming readers... Though I didn't know it, I couldn't have chosen a better subject to train me to become a children's author...

Creating Horrid Henry's gang of characters with alliterative names (Moody Margaret, Anxious Andrew, Sour Susan, Lazy Linda), each with a unique characteristic, was directly inspired by the medieval concept of the four humours: sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic. Old and Middle English also gave me a feel for the rhythms and textures of English - invaluable skills for a writer.

Was I aware of this excellent job-training at the time? Of course not. I didn't study Old and Middle English, and medieval art, literature and history, because I thought a great job awaited me. I did it because studying the middle ages enriched my life while connecting me to the fears, longings and delights of the past...

I'm not suggesting that studying Old and Middle English leads directly to a successful writing career, though I do note that three greats - JRR Tolkein, CS Lewis and JK Rowling - were all medievalists. But unless you want to be a doctor, electrician or another job for which specific knowledge is required, any "soft" arts subjects such as history, English, theology, foreign languages and so on, teaches how to think critically, research effectively, and deepens your understanding of the world: vital skills in our time of disinformation, cults and AI.

Do we want to live in a world where books and culture flourish? Or in a purely functional world where the value of education is solely measured in expected earnings? Did my friend Ed blow his first in physics to teach and play banjo? Perhaps Kemi would be a better leader if she'd dropped engineering for religious studies or psychology.

The university of Chicago's motto is: "Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched." If you've learned how to think, critically and creatively, then universities have done their  job. Since no one truly knows what will benefit them in the future, why not study the subjects you enjoy, and discover where they take you.

(Francesca Simon, The Guardian, 2025)

A spirited defence of the humanities in an era where science and technology are in the ascendance.