Degrees that teach critical thinking can never be a ‘rip-off’ | Letters

Further to Francesca Simon’s excellent rebuttal of Kemi Badenoch’s promise to scrap “rip‑off” degrees (Kemi Badenoch wants to end ‘rip-off degrees’ – but I wouldn’t have created Horrid Henry without mine, 15 October), I’d like to point out that studying Old and Middle English brings vital contextual understanding of modern British life, from the crusader origins of trust law to the complex politics of regional devolution today. My own degrees in the subject also taught me transferable professional skills including transcribing near-illegible handwriting, the considerable importance of version control in work documentation, and the ability to read between the lines when dissent must be expressed obliquely because doing otherwise carries a high penalty. Perhaps this last is what makes the humanities so threatening in certain quarters. Leon Craig Berlin, Germany • I was reminded while reading Francesca Simon’s opinion piece of the old graffito regarding the social sciences: “Sociology degrees. Please take one” (scrawled above a toilet-roll holder). The social sciences cover a broad span. They include, and inform, our understanding of health, housing, education, taxation and more. Some graduates end up in such worthwhile endeavours as advertising or political polling. Others in such misunderstood endeavours as the civil service and local government. Badenoch’s campaign against “rip-off degrees” does two things. First, it fails to understand that the economy actually benefits from people studying travel and tourism, event planning, drama and golf course management. Second, it works against individual desires to study for study’s sake – a stance inimical to a party that espouses individualism. Polly Llwynfedwen Brecon, Powys • Francesca Simon is right to challenge the narrow-minded focus on degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) subjects proposed by Kemi Bademoch. As a newly arrived undergraduate in 1976, I asked the Zimbabwean (but at that point still Rhodesian) student in the next-door room what he was studying, expecting him to say physics or engineering, or something else technical that he could use to help build his country’s future. Instead he replied, “Philosophy.” Why, I asked, not a practical subject? He replied, “Because you need people who can think clearly to stop people like Idi Amin taking over.” He was right, of course, though sadly Robert Mugabe still inflicted terrible damage on Zimbabwe. Now, more than ever, critical thinking skills and the perspective of history are needed to understand the multiple challenges and tragedies of our world. Rev Tim Evans Lancaster • Dr Jan Udris and his lessons on basic political concepts (Letters, 14 October) have much in common with the “rip-off” degrees belittled by the leader of the Conservative party. They all aim to teach students to read critically, to discuss, to evaluate and, ultimately, to call out bullshit. Which is why those on the right find them so dangerous. Eleanor Jardine Hertford • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.