Last week I couldn’t find The Shows of London by Richard Altick. I wandered level 2 of the humanities library for a good few minutes before going downstairs to the front desk, where the librarian informed me that this was not just a book they shelve away regularly. It was a large book, in its own section with the other abnormally sized books so it wouldn’t get too lonely. She very kindly offered to help me find it on the shelf and we got chatting about the new library, the vast array of books, how you could come here and find anything from The Shows of London to contemporary music theory.
At first, I felt unsettled by this mingling of faculties. How did it make any sense for English to meet with history and philosophy? But this is exactly what the humanities is. The mingling of disciplines to generate conversations that draw on the connections between subjects instead of enforcing a divide between them. It is human connection. The humanities has to find and make concrete its place in a society that is continually shifting towards a greater focus, praise, of STEM. If the sciences can group together, why shouldn’t the humanities?
I primarily visit the Schwarzman centre to attend lectures, but I enjoy lingering for a few hours after to catch up on notes, surrounded by the buzz of conversation. It is during this time that I can always guarantee I will see a friend from another faculty that I otherwise wouldn’t have bumped into for weeks at a time. We grab a coffee and chat, catch up in this new expansive building with tourists passing through on a sunny day, lecturers on another. This opportunity to interact with people I know in a relaxed academic setting was something entirely foreign before the centre was built and now it’s something I look forward to each week. Never knowing who I will see, or what conversation about AI ethics or Rousseau I will overhear when I’m sat responding to emails before my next lecture.
These interactions are exciting. Inspiring. The Schwarzman centre promises to be a place I visit throughout the rest of my degree, where I know I will be welcomed by staff invested in the future of the humanities whilst surrounded by students making sure that future happens. I hope to finish my degree with knowledge from various faculties, creating an education not isolated but grounded in community.
