Programming languages math and algorithms are the discourses used by computer scientists to address their concerns just as psycho analysis ethnography and material culture are some of the discourses used to address the concerns of the humanities.
Donahue, Evan, ‘A “Hello World” Apart (Why Humanities Students Should NOT Learn to Program) | HASTAC’.
I think coding is not necessary for humanities students to learn, and that it is the most important thing for digital humanities. Obviously, it is hard to deny that coding teaches problem solving skills in a way that is completely unique, but for the average humanities student, there are much more useful things than coding. As evidenced by Evan Donahue’s quote above, programming is more of a niche skill than it seems, and especially within the digital humanities realm, there are so many things that you are able to do without learning to code.
I think I have more personal experience with this than most people, as I have gone from a Computer Science major to now a Music major and DGAH minor. I have taken several computer science classes here at Carleton, some dealing almost exclusively with coding and others more math or philosophically-focused. In the spring of my junior year, I realized that computer science wasn’t the path I wanted to take with my life, and I made the tough decision to switch my major to music, my biggest passion. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life coding, and have to deal with an increasingly over-saturated job market. At that time I also added the DGAH minor, as a way to still show some of my computer-related skills when I graduate, and I am very happy with that decision. Taking a bunch of digital humanities classes has expanded my fluency with technology, but also with the critical thinking and expressing my ideas in new ways that humanities encourage.
The biggest difference I’ve noticed since switching majors is how little I’ve needed to use any coding. The availability of different tools in all digital arts/humanities fields is astounding. Because of this, I think every humanities student can find their niche, whether it be creating art, writing prose or coding a website. Overall, coding is absolutely not necessary for any humanities student, but it definitely is a skill that would not hurt to have.
Below is a snippet of Python code that I used to solve a basic Project Euler problem. It’s a cool website that has you solve math problems with coding, and I find it enjoyable to go on and see if I still have my coding and math abilities.
def pythagorean_triplet(sum):
a = 0
b = 0
c = 0
for i in range(1, sum + 1):
c = i
for j in range(1, sum - c):
b = j
a = sum - (c + b)
if a * a + b * b == c * c:
return a * b * c
4 thoughts on “Why Humanities Students Don’t Need to Code”
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Thanks for sharing your opinion Nate, I think it’s really interesting to hear about this from the side of somebody who has experience with Computer Science but who is not pursuing it as a career. As you said I definitely agree that learning to code teaches problem-solving skills in a unique way, but I do acknowledge what you said about not needing to actually code at all if you aren’t directly working in the computer science field. I wonder if the problem-solving skills can just be learned from coding then or if there is a way to teach these skills separately from the physical coding part that is equally as effective but doesn’t put as much emphasis on code.
Reading your post, I had so many parts I feel empathy for and also insights that I have never thought about. In my post, I argued that humanities students should learn to code but after reading your post, I can see why they don’t need to learn coding. As you mentioned not all humanities students may benefit from coding and I thought the quote you grabbed from Donahue strongly supports your claim.
As a CS major, I always wonder if this is the right path or if I want to code my whole life. However, unlike you, I don’t have any other strong interest so I am very proud of you for being able to make such a big decision and hope you the best!
I agree that coding isn’t a necessary goal for humanities students to learn. I am a studio art major sophomore and have never felt the need to learn how to code despite all my years of experience and curiosity while on the internet. I think coding is a skill at which only some people enjoy and are good. I prefer to express myself through visual arts, a form of problem-solving and creativity. Not everyone attending a liberal arts college needs to excel at it (metaphorical and semantically). Many tools and platforms, such as WordPress, Photoshop, or Canva, allow humanities students to create digital projects without coding. Coding is one of many ways to be fluent in technology or to engage with digital humanities. I massively respect those who can code, too, of course.
I’m a studio art major in my second year and I have no clue about coding. When I read this blog post, I felt like I was missing out on something important. Humanities constantly adapt to new technologies and methods, but sometimes, things take time to overcome the starting line. I wish I could, and I sometimes wonder how I have built the skills I excel at over the years vs. others. Though inching forward with HTML and CSS done through our course makes me enjoy creation in general, getting our sites to edit a template dramatically helps my confidence, even if only for a little while.