As a history major who has taken multiple computer science courses at Carleton, I suppose I stand against my own argument. However, while I appreciated the opportunity to explore a new field, I ultimately don’t believe it’s necessary for humanities students to learn how to code.
I took Intro to Computer Science and Data Structures last year. These courses were difficult for me, but I ended up enjoying them and learning a lot. Still, I don’t think these classes are for everyone, and I believe pushing students into a STEM field is limiting. It gives young people, particularly young humanities students, less credit than they deserve, implying that these students can’t decide for themselves what skills they need for their future. This way of thinking also discredits the humanities as a whole. Is it not deemed difficult and fulfilling enough to just study history, philosophy or literature on their own? In no other field are scholars expected to go so far out of their realm of specialization. We wouldn’t ask chefs to learn how to construct buildings or computer scientists to learn surgery! Specialization is valuable. It allows collaboration, and ultimately creates better work.
Of course, humanities students can learn how to code if they want to or if they need to. It’s a useful skill. Many humanities projects may require coding, but I choose to believe that humanities students are smart. We know that. We know when a project has spread past our realm and when we need to ask for help or learn a new skill. I think that when students get to follow their own academic passions, it will feel much more fulfilling than if they were to be forced into learning coding.
While programming will indeed usefully equip one better to understand computer scientific discourses, it should NOT be taken as the necessary precondition to engaging with the computer sciences and all who consider themselves scholars of the humanities should realize that the discourse of programming is only the technical jargon with which computer scientists address many of the very same questions that one encounters every day in the humanities.
Donahue, Evan. “A ‘Hello World’ Apart (Why Humanities Students Should NOT Learn to Program).” Hastac, 28 May 2018, https://web.archive.org/web/20220516075231/https://www.hastac.org/blogs/evan-donahue/2010/05/28/hello-world-apart-why-humanities-students-should-not-learn-program. Accessed 18 Jan. 2024.
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<p> Coding is <b>fun</b> </p>
<p> but humanities students shouldn’t <i> have </i> to learn it
</body>3 thoughts on “Blog 3- Humanities students should not learn to program”
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I understand your argument, especially about how this idea can discredit humanities as a whole, however I disagree. I think that it is just as important for humanities students to learn a little bit of coding as it is for computer science students to learn a little bit of humanities. I believe that while specialization is crucial to our society it is not harmful to learn about something else, especially when it can be useful in your own field. The quote you chose and your bit of code were very supportive in your argument. Overall, your blog post, while I disagree, opened my eyes to the other side of the argument.
I agree with the argument you made saying that learning to code is optional for humanities students. I really like the point you make about the value of specialization, which is one that I have not heard before. While it is a very useful skill it is not entirely necessary, especially if a humanities student is in an area of study where they would not utilize computer science methods and techniques on a regular basis.
I believe your viewpoint is worth discussing. Based on your own experiences, I think your skepticism about humanities students having to learn programming is justified. You do not deny the assistance that learning programming provides to humanities students, but at the same time, you raise the point of specialization. In conclusion, your perspective is quite insightful