"What do you study?"
"Ancient History"
"Oh, and what are you going to do with that?"
This is a conversation I've had so many times that I've lost count. Whether it be colleagues at part-time jobs, family members or even adults accompanying prospective students at open days - those who choose to go down a humanities route are often plagued with the question of 'why'. Not to say, people shouldn't ask these questions - I love to talk about my research and oftentimes people asking want to hear it. I understand, to some degree, why people feel the need to ask 'why?' and 'where does this lead?'. The contributions of humanities subjects are not often discussed or addressed in everyday life, so people do wonder - what CAN you do with a humanities degree? I always give the same answer 'I would love to continue researching but the skills we develop in this degree are so transferable that you can do virtually anything'. At open days I often revert to this standard response with the addition of a 'graduate prospects' leaflet because articulating the full impact of humanities is a difficult one to put into a short answer.
There is a perception that a humanities degree is somewhat 'lesser' because 'how does it contribute to society?' - after all, you're not in a lab finding how to cure illness, developing some new technology or anything else that can be intrinsically linked and given clear value by the layperson. Even applications asking 'what does your research add to society?' or 'why is your research relevant?', we are left searching and scratching for ways to clearly and plainly demonstrate that our research is essential. Sometimes our work is intrinsically tied into current events and debates that allow us to ground it and demonstrate its importance fairly easily to the outside viewer. However, I argue, that furthering and circulating knowledge itself is valuable.
On a recent walk with a friend we delved into this discussion about our 'relevance'. With our conversation going on for a *very* long time, our ultimate conclusion was - everything has value. Every study in every field adds something to society, from advancing thought to simply providing interest and enjoyment - everything will have importance to someone.
The key point is humanities and the sciences cannot function without one another - every degree, every subject, every field is just as important as the others; they all have import and impact societies and communities in a variety of ways.
So why humanities? Why choose to study this? Well, because I love it. As the saying goes, 'if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life' and I love ancient history.
So keep asking me why. Keep asking what I do. Take an interest in all kinds of fields of study, from humanities to science and beyond.
Anecdote time!
I was once asked this question by Martin Clunes. He asked what I studied to which I responded "I'm ancient history" before allowing my friend to answer. His reply "Yes, but what do you study?". This little joke kept us all smiling then, and still makes me smile now.