Non-English Majors and the Publishing Industry

Back in the day when I was looking for a full time work, I was astounded that publishing jobs tend to look for either journalism or English majors.  I can understand why they prefer someone with a journalism background, but English?  Why aren’t other liberal arts majors listed?  I find it interesting that HR would think English majors has better writing skills.

As you might have guessed, I majored in a non-English liberal arts subject – history (and drama) to be exact.  After I graduated, I felt strange when looking at job postings.  It was a matter of ”do they REALLY want me?”  Of course, I applied anyway, even though I know that with all things being equal, they’d take an English major over good ol’ history.

Non-English majors are, in fact, better for current events type publications.  A history or political science degree helps people understand and interpret the news.  In fact, one could see something and immediately relate it to a period in history, while an English major, whose last history course was a general survey course in first year, might not.  Take Toronto Star’s article about the Tea Party in the US,  for example.  The piece talks about how this fringe group aims at the educated – the supporters believe that “educated” people are, in Sarah Palin’s terms, not “real Americans.”  The first thing that came to mind when I read the article was the Cultural Revolution in China.  In the 1960s, Mao Zedong believed that the so-called “liberal bourgeois” was killing what he thought was an ideal Chinese society, so he mobilized the young people to rebel against traditional thought and culture such as Chinese art, literature and philosophies.  The Cultural Revolution turned the 1960s into one of the darkest periods in modern Chinese history. 

So do you think English major could connect the Tea Party with the Cultural Revolution?  It isn’t very likely, unless said individual had family members affected by the period.  However, a political science, international studies or history major might. What I’m saying here is that other liberal arts majors can be just as good, if not better, when it comes to the publishing industry, than someone with an English degree.  In fact, they’ll probably be able to offer a different perspective on things.  The publishing industry needs change right now.  Keeping the old way can be suicide