Nineteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Eric Hayot notes that enrollment for Humanities majors has steadily declined since the 1990s, and that this depletion of college freshman from humanities to other majors has caused an apocalyptic discourse about the state of the academy. In response to Hayot’s call for humanists to justify their work, this paper affirms the value of writing by examining what college freshman appreciate about their writing courses. The piece asks “what is writing?” (ie. writing as object), and “how does writing operate?” (ie. writing as action). Facilitating a discussion within the field of composition and rhetoric, this paper engages writing by James Paul Gee, Joseph Harris, Barry Kroll, Nancy Sommers and Laura Saltz. In so doing, I articulate how writing gives students the tools with which they can begin to contend with eternal questions that bring meaning to their temporary labors in college. In addition, this paper affirms the value of the critic and of theoretical inquiry. I trace contemporary opinions on the role of the critic, including Helen Sword’s claim that publishable academic prose employ “unreadable” jargon, and Gayatri Spivak’s view that theoretical products contain practical elements. Considering the role of (a) writing, (b) the critic, and (c) theoretical texts, this paper seeks to express the practical value of a college major that receives ridicule for being impractical: namely, a major in the humanities.