By SARAH CUTLER
This article is the second in a series about the state of humanities at Cornell, as part of The Daily Sun Dialogues, a new digital project launched this week. Read more about the state of humanities at dialogues.cornellsun.com.
This semester, Maris Hansen ’16 is taking six classes — astronomy, French, two courses on finance, one on comparative inequality and one on immigration policy. But only the last two courses will go toward her government major; the rest, she said, are for her more “practical” minors in business, international relations and law and society.
“The business aspect came in after long, long discussions with my mother,” Hansen said. “My family agrees that I should study something I truly care about and am passionate about, but they wanted me to also do something practical and employable — something I could fall back on.”
Goldwin Smith Hall, which houses the College of Arts and Sciences, is a prominent humanities building on campus. (ANTHONY CHEN / sun staff photographer)