There are fewer and fewer English majors in higher education these days. While English departments are struggling against the common view that the humanities prepare one only for work in the fast food industry, they seem to be missing the true value of their subject.
Consider this:
“What really amazed me when I started reading through the senior surveys is that literary study is profoundly transformative,” Cartwright said, adding that seniors report enjoying and learning from the classics as much contemporary fiction. “Its value registers profoundly with students, and that’s the basis on which to build, and what I would turn our attention to.”
I think this may be related: The Death of College Humor
"But victims and oppressors are how college students are taught to see the world. And now professional comedians are avoiding gigs on campuses because students are so hypersensitive."