Everything people who are doing a Humanities degree are sick of hearing
“So, are you going to be a teacher?”
You may have noticed nowadays that it’s not enough to simply go to uni, because everyone goes to uni. You have to be better. Even if that means belittling those who don’t go to a Russell Group uni, or who go to a metropolitan uni in the same city as you, or who are simply at a uni lower on a league table than your own.
This hierarchy permeates the universities themselves: whereby science-y and maths-y degrees are seen as quantifiably better than humanities subjects. Whether this is due to a belief that science degrees guarantee better job prospects (they don’t), or a belief that they are simply more difficult (they aren’t), we asked the students of King’s what they’re sick of hearing from people who don’t study their subject.
Classics
“Who wants to speak a dead language?” – Dan, fourth year
“Is that where you read, like, Jane Austen?” – Heather, second year
Comparative Literature
“Wait… what’s your degree?” – Sunnii, second year
English
“Oh, but your English seems good, though!” – James, second year
“What are you gonna do when you graduate? Are you going to be an English teacher?*” – Alex, third year
Film Studies
“Watching movies all day must be soooo fun!” – Joe, third year
“Can you contribute to this Tab article?” – Rob, third year.
“So how was Marilyn Monroe really killed?” – Actual King’s Lecturer
French
“Are you fluent yet?” – Tom, fourth year
“Say something in French to me!” – Danielle, fourth year
“Are you going to be a teacher?” – Sophie, fourth year
German
“This is Rosie: she’s studying to be a flag waving Nazi.” – Rosie, fourth year
“Why are you doing that? Every German speaks English.” – Sara, fourth year
History
“…Dover?” – Ben, second year
Law
“Oh, my God. You’re gonna earn so much money!” – Libby, fourth year
“I guess you didn’t know what you wanted to study. Bet you miss all your free time…” – Arnaud, first year
“You can help me out if I ever break the law, right?” – Cassie, first year
Philosophy, Politics and Economics
“Oh, so those are your A Levels? What did you get in your GCSEs?” – Katy, fourth year
“Do you want to be a politician?” – Duncan, second year
Spanish
“Do you do Siesta all the time lol?” – Antonia, fourth year.
Theology
“You do theology, are you going to be a priest?” – Alex, second year
Business and Economics
“No I can’t explain why everything fell apart in 2008.” – Tom, third year
Liberal Arts
“Oh lol what’s that?” – Georgie, first year
Music
“Is that where you sit and listen to music in lectures or do you actually learn anything?” – Sasha, first year
War Studies
“Wait… are you going to be a teacher?” – Sid, second year
International Relations
“Isn’t it difficult for a woman to study International Relations?” – Rebekka, second year
Geography
“Do you guys just colour in maps?” – Yvette, second year
*Almost everyone interviewed for this article mentioned this.