Hi! I major in the Humanities (English Creative Writing, to be exact) and objectively have a more interesting and vibrant life than you! Probably more sex, too!
But as much as I love my courses, department, and bits of actual free time, there are times when I feel overlooked by the University at large. In an effort to combat this, I’ve curated this little section to be a playground for my fellow Humanities majors. Enjoy, and remember: STEM people don’t know how to read! Everything here is just for you!
Free Time Quiz
While all of your STEM friends are stuck taking classes, recitations, and labs, you actually have a bit of time to look after yourself. Take our quiz to see how you use your time!
Where do you go when it’s time to relax?
- B Stacks, where the University hides all of the library’s fiction, poetry, and imagination.
- Back to sleep.
- “Back to sleep.” (I have a substance abuse problem.)
- The nearest liminal space: the courtyard by Dougie that’s both a forest and a lung cancer clinic, the Mount Hope Diner parking lot, that place in Simon with the sushi and the important-looking grad students, Southside.
Regardless of where you actually go, you chose “D!” What do you do in your liminal space?
- Peruse the latest journals and periodicals from my field, work on my thesis, enrich my understanding of the world, its people, and myself.
- Sleep.
- “Sleep.” (If you’re a cop you have to tell me or else it’s entrapment.)
- Slowly sink into a catatonic state of despair over the ruin that is the world, the dread you feel about post-graduation life, and whether or not you’ll ever have enough income to start a family or even own a cat.
Regardless of what you actually do, you chose “D!” Do you find this experience beneficial?
- Nope.
- No.
- “No.” (No.)
- Yes – brooding fuels the completely unfounded inferiority complex which led to the creation of “The Humanities Fun Zone.”
Regardless of how you actually feel, you chose “D!” Check back next week, when our Free Time Quiz will be “Am I Actually Always Hungry, or Should I Get a Hobby?”
What’s Wrong with This Passage?
Can you find the five mistakes in this famous work of literature? Bonus points if you can find the mistake in the accompanying illustration!
Illustration by Redietu Haile, Staff Illustrator
“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. (And by “Man,” I mean “Capital.”) He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. (The milk and eggs and shit are all products made by labor. Are you getting this? Am I not being clear enough?) Yet he is lord of all the animals. (Also, Stalin’s pretty fucked up, amiright?) He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving (the worst kid in your philosophy class will somehow cite this book as an advocate for capitalism)), and the rest he keeps for himself. (I wanted to call it “Russia Farm,” but my publisher wouldn’t let me.)” – George Orwell, “Animal Farm”
The Numbers Corner
As per University academic policy, we have included some cross-disciplinary material. Please look at this big number and feel enlightened.
Illustration by Dalia Mitchell, Illustrations Editor
Drawing Section
Follow the prompts and draw the faces of people responding to you telling them that you’re majoring in the Humanities!
“Oh! So, uh, what do you think you’ll do with that? Maybe marketing? I’ve got a sister-in-law that works in the city, do you want her number? Here, take her card.” Illustration by Redietu Haile, Staff Illustrator
“I wish I could just draw pictures for my major! No, I haven’t gone to Calc lecture in two months. Yes, of course my parents will keep paying tuition. I just wish you could major in being an influencer, y’know? By the way, have you heard about Blue Apron?”
“Wow, have fun being a barista! I still get very mad online about the four female “Ghostbusters” and am very intelligent.”
The Social Sciences Corner
As per University academic policy, we have also included some cross-disciplinary material from the Social Sciences. Please read about and/or visit the country of the week, which is: Peru.
