The Second Laird Miscellany is back, and this term we’re starting with a feature on English double majors! While in Laird, everyone is tied together under the banner of literature–we take the same classes, learn the same skills. However, many English majors also saw fit to pursue other disciplines, and we decided to find out more about the wide range of interests of our classmates (from computer science to studio art!), and how they think the second major enhances their experiences as English majors. We asked a selection of students who are double-majoring some questions about the decision. Check out their answers below!
- What is your second major?Why did you decide to double major?
- How does your non-English major inform your experiences as an English major?
Madison Chambers (‘18):
Psychology. I have always been interested in stories and storytelling, especially as an entry point into perspectives different from my own. I decided to study English and Psychology because I felt they both delve into how we understand our world and communicate with those around us.
I’m not sure I buy into Freudian theory for the most part in either field, but I do find myself paying close attention to the thought-processes and displayed behavior of characters. It’s fascinating to contemplate the inner-lives of fictional characters, and to what extent we can consider the text a reflection of the author.
Martha Durrett (‘18):
My second major is computer science, which is certainly not a very common double with English. I decided to double major because both majors were very central to my identity. When it came down to decision time, I tried to picture myself as NOT an English major or NOT a CS major, and I couldn’t do either, so I said “what the hell, let’s double comps senior winter.”
How does my non-English major inform my experience as an English major? This is actually really interesting because I think people are quick to assume that there’s no overlap between CS and English, and in terms of the classes I’m taking there obviously isn’t, but in terms how either subject makes you think, I see lots of similarities. Both require you to think very critically and use creative observations to develop an efficient and intuitive final product. In CS, “efficient and intuitive” can mean a program that works well and is easy to use, and in English it could mean a final paper that makes good use of textual evidence and has a clear argument. I’ve noticed that my English writing has improved as I’ve learned more CS because I’ve become better at focusing on the logic of my writing. Just as in coding, one line of code must work before the next line can run, in an English paper, each paragraph or section must make a clear claim that leads naturally into your next argument. It seems odd, but computer science has improved my ability to create logically coherent literary arguments!
Jenan Jacobson (‘18)
My second major is theater, and it was an addition to my academic pursuits that I certainly wasn’t expecting when I started Carleton. It seemed to me that theater and English fit well together, their focuses frequently overlapping, and I decided that both paths brought with them really unique ways of approaching art.
I think that balancing the two disciplines allows for a deepening of the conversation to be had about literature and art. Inherent to both is an ability to generate viable interpretations of texts, whether for the expansion of an academic concept or the production of a play. As a theater major, much of what I am concerned about is the “how” of it all, as well as finding a way into the minds of the characters in a way that is a little more involved than a standard literary approach. I think that these strategies for unwrapping a text carry through in interesting ways, leading to what I can only hope is a more nuanced understanding of the pieces we study in my English classes.
Ben Matson (‘17):
My other major is math. I knew I would major in math when I was still in high school, but I would have laughed at you had you suggested I’d major in English too. Thinking about it now, though, the signs were there all along. For example, I’m pretty sure all the preferences I gave for my A&I were English classes. After a few terms here, I realized I was thinking about and enjoying English as much as math, and that was when I decided to double major.
I’m not really aware of any influence my math major has had on being an English major. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if my tendency to overuse “therefore” when writing papers comes from all the proofs I’ve had to do for math classes.
Leslie Mei (‘17):
My second major is Psychology. As for why, the truth is I couldn’t decide between them. I came to Carleton knowing I was interested in both, and by the time I was to declare I knew that giving up either would have been giving up something important to me. So I chose both.
I have often said that the two disciplines are two ways of approaching the same problem – that is, the mind of the individual. Just as Freud sparked new ideas in the imagination of the modernists, all of psychology can be a source of inspiration and a method of examining (or re-examining) literary texts. Additionally, a lot of Theory in upper level English touches on concepts used in philosophy, politics, and psychology. For example, there is a branch of social psychology called narrative psychology, which ties in wonderfully with narrative theory.
Christine Zheng (‘18):
My second major is studio art; I chose to double major, because I wanted to balance my studies at Carleton with a more academically rigorous major that would challenge my writing, communication, and analytic abilities, which is English, with a major that allowed me to consider communication, culture, expression through a more creative means.
Practicing and learning about visual art has helped me to understand the significance that literary art has in representing and fundamentally shaping human experience, and why beauty and art does not exist at the periphery (as I think is a common opinion), but rather the center of our pursuit of knowledge and truth. In the same way that art making poses questions about the significance and construction of visual symbols, so too does literature and language pose questions about interpretation and representation of written symbols. Ultimately, puzzling over questions about the significance of visual art as an artist has better equipped me to analyze literature on a aesthetic, cultural, and social levels.