Two Reasons why Programming is Valuable for the Humanities More than Ever
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As a professor teaching programming and data analysis to humanities students, one of the most common questions I hear is, What’s the practical side of this? Humanities students, often rooted in traditional approaches to literature, history, and philosophy, wonder how these technical skills connect to real-world applications. There’s a lingering assumption that the humanities might be out of sync with today’s technology-driven economy. However, in this era dominated by AI and data science, humanities scholars are uniquely positioned to leverage programming tools, transforming their fields in ways previously unimaginable.
In fact, there are two compelling reasons why programming has become indispensable for the humanities:
Humanities Data are Unstructured and Chaotic
At the heart of the humanities lies a vast, unstructured ocean of data — historical texts, literature, social media posts, interviews — all complex and often chaotic. Traditional analytical methods struggle to manage such data effectively. But programming offers the key to unlock these intricate data sets, enabling analysis at scales previously thought impossible.
