“It is better to be self-questioning than to carry on doing what we have always done for reasons of institutional practicality or intellectual inertia” (Moran 102). This quote from Moran’s book Interdisciplinarity stuck with me. It brings me right back to the notion that just because people tell you that English isn’t a practical major, that you can’t make a career of it even if you are passionate about it. While people may be semi-correct in saying this, it is not entirely true. If you set out to major in English with absolutely no plan, then these English “critics” might be right. I say this only because it is necessary to have a plan with any major. On the other hand, you might have a plan and majoring in English can lead you to it, along with many other things. You do not want to get dragged into the monotonous “practicality” that everyone else seems to be unwillingly or unknowingly dragged into, simply to keep their knowledge flowing. But, if you aren’t passionate about it, what’s the point? So, it may be better to be questioning your choices due to a lack of support from people, rather than be majoring in engineering, for example, where you have a straight path to your future and are in a practical field.
English Majors Practising Criticism