What Are You Going To Do With That?

The National Humanities Alliance (NHA) released the first season of its inaugural podcast What Are You Going To Do With That? – exploring the decisions that lead someone to study the humanities as an undergraduate and their pathway to a fulfilling career – on March 14. The first season features seven episodes and is hosted by Scott Muir, project director for NHA’s Study the Humanities initiative, features a diverse group of people with humanities backgrounds working in a variety of industries, including Andrew Bagley, (A.B. History, '08 and J.D. '12):

Focusing on one individual per episode, the podcast invites listeners to learn what motivated them to study the humanities and how they built a successful and fulfilling career using the knowledge and skills they gained through those studies. These stories debunk widespread misperceptions about humanities majors’ career prospects by highlighting some of the limitless possibilities for applying humanities knowledge and skills in today’s workforce. 

“There’s a misleading narrative that discourages students from studying the humanities,” says NHA executive director Stephen Kidd. “Our research shows that concerns about job prospects are the primary factor driving the decline in humanities majors and enrollments, but that these fears are based in myth. The stories in the podcast illustrate why a humanities background is a great foundation for a wide variety of careers.”

 

Bagley's episode is framed on 'Prepare for a Successful Legal Career':

Andrew Bagley shares how studying the humanities (in this case, history) can help you make partner by 35…and actually enjoy it! Andrew’s story shows, more broadly, how the self-directed nature of humanistic study enables you to design a curriculum that provides a direct on-ramp for your chosen profession. You can point a humanities education in whatever direction you want to go!

 

Kudos to the NHA and Muir for this inventive use of a friendly medium to digress on the many benefits of humanities degrees. Listen here.