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I see English Lit is trending for being "useless". I have an MA in English Lit and Mathematics and I just want to throw my two cents into the ring (or however it goes...) 1/
IMO, an English degree is easier to *pass* at a most basic level than a maths degree, but it is MUCH MUCH harder to do WELL in (it's totally possible to get 100% in maths). 2/
Why is English Lit harder? Because the majority of the information you learn comes from independent research; you're not spoon fed formulas and techniques to churn out in an exam; exams can TOTALLY blindside you and require you to think very fast; no marks for "working out". 3/
I did well in my maths degree and now I can't remember the first thing about it. Not one of the equations I spent hours mastering is actually "useful" to me anymore. From English Lit, I've learned how to read and write critically. These are vital skills, pursuing a PhD or not. 4/
Gov likes to paint maths as some utilitarian golden ticket to a "useful" job, but it's actually rare to find a job that requires knowledge of degree-level maths. Anecdotal, but unless you count my three boring months in finance (that anyone with a basic knowledge of arithmetic 5/
and Excel could've done), maths was not some magic ticket to a "useful" job for me. Of my (wonderful) friends who still *use* maths, most are learning accountancy (and you can become an accountant after an English Lit degree, by the way). 6/
If people want to use the argument that "maths demonstrates to employers that a candidate can solve complex problems", then they should have a go at an English Lit UG reading list and try to churn out a 1st class essay, and then come back and tell me about complex problems. 7/
I'm not knocking maths or maths students. I loved it, I REALLY miss it, and it's a tough degree. But I'm tired of smug STEM rhetoric, and A&H students being told they're taking the easy, "useless" route. 8/
This goes with saying that it's so important to encourage BAME and female STEM students - most of my maths lecturers were white and male. But if we keep telling GCSE/A-Level students that English Lit is useless, it'll continue to have problems with diversity+inclusion too. 9/9
