Classics. Mickey Mouse Subject?

[Burnsy2023]

So, a conversation at work was sparked by a tweet from a friend who has just turned down a PhD place from Cambridge. Skeeter has suggested that Classics is a mickey mouse subject with no particular use in the real world.

My argument is that is a very established subject with wide reaching implications. You learn about philosophy, languages, history, art, literature and others that although may not be directly applicable to a job, does make you a more articulate, scholarly and overall more able to comprehend big questions.

So who do you agree with?

 

[shoes]

Boris Johnson has the ability to speak so articulately and hilariously in almost any situation which I believe is, in part, due to his education in classics.

 

[yer_averagejoe]

worthwhile IMO.

 

[Muffin`]

Well he's right, there's no 'particular use' which you went onto confirm.

It's not the same as a Medical or Law degree

 

[Burnsy2023]

Well he's right, there's no 'particular use' which you went onto confirm.

No, I said it wasn't directly applicable to a job, not that it had no use.

 

[Cr0fty]

It shows a huge range of skills. Research, analysis, comprehension, debate, reasoning, I'm not going to try for more than that, but it's in no way a mickey mouse degree!

 

[Muffin`]

No, I said it wasn't directly applicable to a job, not that it had no use.

Then I agree, he's wrong. The course wouldn't exist at the places it does for the time it has if it was mickey mouse

 

[Castiel]

It has wide ranging application in the employment market.....as I'm on a phone I'll let the Guardian explain.....

http://m.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jul/24/classics-degree-graduate-careers?cat=money&type=article

 

[Belmit]

I've always used 'Mickey Mouse' to refer to something amateurish or bodged together. With degrees etc. it seems to have become a term for subjects that have almost no real-world application or appear to require little effort. I'm not sure Classics falls under either defintion.

 

[Muffin`]

There are no Mickey Mouse subjects. What matters is the combination of course and institution...

Mickey Mouse means a degree which is completely irrelevant to you in employment. The media's been filled with one from Batman to Celebrity Gossip.

 

[Strife212]

Classics is pretty much the complete opposite of a micky mouse degree.

 

[Glaucus]

If it was in a third rate uni, then I would call it a Micky mouse course. But it's not, so it's not.

It really is a combination of subject, institution and result/personality on how useful it is.

 

[Hatter The Mad]

If it was in a third rate uni, then I would call it a Micky mouse course. But it's not, so it's not.

It really is a combination of subject, institution and result/personality. On how useful it is.

Bingo.

Even Computer Science is a Micky mouse course if taken at somewhere like Westminster

 

[Burnsy2023]

Lol @ Tweeting about turning down a PhD place at Cambridge, btw. It's basically a case of, 'LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME'...

The actual tweet was remarking on the fact that she got turned down for a BA at Cambridge but accepted for a PhD and was taking a bizarre pleasure in turning them down. She's really not the type to brag.

 

[freak2002]

I would say a degree from cambridge is worth its weight no matter the subject, but I am a uni drop out from a rubbish uni so what can I say...

 

[realBabelfish]

There are no Mickey Mouse subjects. What matters is the combination of course and institution...

Lol @ Tweeting about turning down a PhD place at Cambridge, btw. It's basically a case of, 'LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME'...

degree in Klingon? not that useful

classics is a weird one. greek mythology is a pretty cool subject. they got up to all kinds of weird ****

 

[RomanNose]

Skills that it teachers are useful, the knowledge that you develop is maybe not.

 

[UK-AL05]

Bingo.

Even Computer Science is a Micky mouse course if taken at somewhere like Westminster

Well that makes no sense, because if don't get into any elite university. Any apprenticeship, any practical course would also be considered Mickey mouse, which is not true. And since CS very applicable course, it could also be applied to that.

If you do a software apprenticeship(Basically Java or .net courses with few design patterns and methodologies thrown in) with an outsourced training provider as most do, you will find they are basically very watered down(No alternative languages like prolog or haskell, no algorithmic analysis, no AI or ML) versions of what they do in universities. Is that Mickey mouse? I think most people would not consider that Mickey mouse, even though they teach less "hard" stuff then even low ranking universities do.

 

[scorza]

It has wide ranging application in the employment market.....as I'm on a phone I'll let the Guardian explain.....

http://m.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jul/24/classics-degree-graduate-careers?cat=money&type=article

Doesn't sound like great career prospects tbh. IMO you're much better off doing a degree subject that you enjoy than just doing one because it's at a prestigious university.

Six months after leaving university, only 51.6% of 2008 classics graduates were in employment compared with 61.5% of graduates in other subjects

About 11% of classics graduates entering full-time work found professional roles as private and public-sector managers, while almost 15% entered retail, catering and bar work. Other clerical occupations accounted for the most number of classics graduates (22.2%) who entered employment, possibly a reflection that administrative roles tend to be the entry-level route for graduates wanting to work in creative, cultural and heritage-related positions. Teaching is an option – there is currently a shortage of classics teachers in the UK.

 

[~>Dg<~]