The Humanities as a Force Multiplier

Earlier this week I witnessed something special. I watched as my partner delivered a lecture to an audience of mostly STEM majors about the importance of Filipinas in Filipino and Filipino-American history. As the presentation reached its crescendo, I saw multiple undergraduate's eyes light up, thoroughly enraptured by a subject they had never before considered. After the lecture's end, a group of STEM undergraduates approached my partner, asking her questions and telling her that she had changed how they would view their own work. It was then that something clicked for me. I thought to myself, “this is why the humanities matter.”

5 Kinds of People You Should Avoid in Graduate School

There are many positives to graduate school. In fact, despite my experiences, I’d still say it’s worth attending. However, every prospective graduate student should beware of certain people. As someone who entered graduate school in 2015 and is now in the process of writing my dissertation, I’ve seen just about everything that grad school can throw at you. Indeed, when I joined up, I was fresh-faced, optimistic, and in many ways, downright naive.

Though I still believe in the overall mission of graduate school and what it intends to accomplish, it’s also true that it’s certainly not the oasis of learning and intellectual betterment that I thought it was as an undergraduate. In many ways, it’s a microcosm of the “real world,” warts and all.

To that end, I’ve decided to make a list of people you should watch out for as a graduate student, so that you’re better prepared when you come face-to-face with them. And hopefully, by spreading awareness of these issues, I’ll be helping to eliminate the problem at the source.

With that said, let's get started.

Why Higher Education Needs The Humanities

How most people in the general public respond when you say that you are studying the humanities.

Somewhere down the line, higher education lost its soul. College became less about education and more about "experiences." Tuition rates skyrocketed, tenured professors were replaced by legions of underpaid adjuncts, and administrative bloat exploded as we decided to make higher education more about building fancy gyms, gigantic football stadiums, and opulent study spaces, all while packing them with as many students as possible. Indeed, we now care less about trying to teach poor students who want to learn, and more about getting money from wealthy students who can afford to pay exorbitant fees. How did this happen, and how do we fix it?