“… When I had my interview for my beloved university, I was asked by my interviewer why he as a taxpayer should subsidise my degree, when it’s of no use to him. Classicists don’t build bridges, or do surgery, or sue people. In fact, he asked me what made Classics a valid subject when I dismissed stupid degrees like David Beckham studies and the like. I made a really stupid answer which I won’t repeat here, but I still cannot think of a totally satisfying answer to that kind of utilitarianism. It’s a fact I come up against whenever I tell people I do Classics – ‘Oh really? And what can you do with that?’ I also notice that my friends who do History and English never get asked that …” (more)
[Echoes of Narcissus, 20 February]