In a couple of weeks, many of you will go home for Thanksgiving; those who don’t go home may have Thanksgiving with friends or acquaintances. Either way, you are likely to encounter those awkward dinner table conversations that go something like this:

Distant Aunt:             So, what are you majoring in?
You (cheerfully):        English! [or fill in your own Liberal Arts major here]
Distant Aunt:             English? What are you going to do with that – be a barista??
You:                            . . . .               

This week, fill in the ellipses with your thoughtful, reasoned response to casual questioners who doubt the value of an English (or really, any humanities) degree. What do you always wish you’d said, after one of these awkward encounters? This is your chance to be as eloquent and convincing as we can’ t always be when put on the spot. How could you convince a skeptical audience of the value of the humanities in an increasingly data-driven world? For that matter, what is the point of the liberal arts – why did you choose this type of institution rather than, say, a large university that does not have core courses or distribution requirements?

Remember that humor is a great strategy when convincing the dubious, and have fun with this prompt! Again, no restrictions on word limit or format.