As an applied mathematics and statistics major, I listened to the episode “Leverage Humanities Skills in the Tech World.” In the podcast, Annie Hallman, an English major now working on national defense projects, talks about her story of applying communication and writing skills to her job. She found out that although many of her colleagues possess the essential technical capability, they have trouble writing a report to clearly convey information. On the other hand, the training in English that Annie received in college helps her visually analyze and record a situation. The podcast definitely opens up new perspectives for me, as I did not think about how learning art history can equip me with communication skills. The ability to convey information is important to almost every field, and I am glad that I get more chances to horn my writing and analysis ability through art history courses than some of my peers who focus exclusively on science. Although I may not work in the field of humanities in the future, I can carry on the lessons I learn from it to my career.
On a more general level, personally, I think studying art history is good for my personal development. I like the peace I experience when I read a good book and the awe I feel when I encounter a great artwork. Learning humanities, for me, is good for its own sake; it is what makes us humans.