Laird Hamilton once said, “If you don't understand the wave, you can't respect it. And if you don't have respect, it's only a matter of time before the ocean teaches you to get some.” I find that often, the same can be said of our work in the Humanities. To properly respect a novel, a poem, or even an essay, it helps to have a basic understanding of the forms and structures—the work that it took to get a piece from a genesis to a final presentation.

In the dojo of writer’s craft, there is no better place to learn this respect than composition. Most universities across the country require at least two semesters of basic English composition or writing. This is because these classes provide necessary skills and knowledge that every single person will take through the rest of their major. Learning to write is not a practice reserved just for writers and humanists, it’s a fundamental tool for success.

Professor Andrew Tolhurst knows an awful lot about respecting both waves and compositional structures—He’s seen his fair share of wipe-outs and rough drafts. He is a surfing enthusiast, a father of two, a prior high school teacher, and now: a professor of English composition and writing. Today we are going to dive into what English composition can teach us more broadly, and how a surfing mentality ties into it all.

“What is it that you do in the English Department?”

“What can you actually do with an English Degree?”

“Don’t you all just end up as high school teachers?”

These questions are ones that all English majors endure every time they dare talk about their studies. For decades, the Humanities have been the punch line of any joke regarding liberal arts education. It’s something that has always been taken in stride and brushed off. But recently, the perception of the nation’s Humanities departments has gone from annoying, to catastrophic. The running jokes have worked their way into budget cuts, enrollment deficits, and unprecedented levels of scrutiny. This turn does not speak to some mass degradation of Humanities colleges nationwide, it illuminates a profound cultural blindness.

The OED defines “relevate” as the act of “elevating, or lifting up (a person or thing) literally or figuratively.” More specifically, it is to do so again—it is to re-elevate that which has been forgotten or lost. Relevation is precisely what we do in Humanities research. We find those things that have been lost to time, ignored, or simply under-analyzed, and we bring them back into the discourse.

So that’s what this podcast aims to do. It aims to enlighten and to correct the discourse—to relevate the relevation that is being done in Humanities departments all across the country.

Every Monday, we are going to talk to either a student, a grad student, or a faculty member from a Humanities department. We are going to discuss the groundbreaking research they are doing, what changes they are making in their communities, what discoveries they have made in their research, and why their work matters for everyone. We are going to pull the curtain back on the humanities, show how important the field really is, and explain what people can actually do with their studies.