3 ms·

"Voices of the defenders of grad school. And me crushing them."

• gruseom 15y ago
  This is a gem of Philistinism, smug in its knowledge of how the world works. Everyone "knows" that what really matters in life is a job at a company. But this author is more enlightened than usual. She concedes that some therapy may be needed as well! When Dostoevsky had his nihilists argue that a pair of boots was worth more than Shakespeare, he took for granted that this was hilarious, stupid, absurd. Now the burden of proof is on Shakespeare. The real reason not to go to grad school in the humanities is that the humanities can't be found there. They were abandoned long ago for pseudotechnical bullshit and obeisance to administrators. That's what I found, anyway, and that was a long time ago and they were already ruined when I got there. There's nothing wrong with a young person whose mind and heart have lit up on encountering arts and letters craving a deeper education in them. The problem is with a society that has no such education to offer, and with the middle-aged dispensing their wisdom that you should work on your resumé instead. Now eat your porridge and hand over that Thackeray.