Learning to code

Learn to Speak: French, Spanish, HTML, CSS.

Coding and programming skills might just be one of the highly demanded skills in the workforce. As we continue to systematize and delve into the technical world, coding is becoming a valuable skill now than ever before. From fields of the humanities to natural sciences, computational thinking and computer programming can be a useful skill to have. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that from the STEMs field, the computer science field is going to grow by 71%. Computer science is the future and since the humanities field is an integral part of society, the intersectionality of the two fields is an important one.

I was not introduced to the world of computers, social media, and the internet until I was in 6th grade, which was when I moved to the United States. Even after that, I still had no idea what coding meant. I just thought that it was something only accessible to white men in industrialized countries. Like Kirshenbaum mentions in his article, learning to code usually depends on privilege and generation. Many do not have access to computers, and the internet let alone coding. However, I was privileged enough to become one of the few to be introduced to coding. Recently, I’ve started my coding lessons on Codeacademy and have so far learned the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I feel like I’ve been introduced to a whole new world. Coding allows for creativity and gives us the ability to build and create new things.  Coding and programming allows us to understand the applications  we use and gives us a whole new lens in which we view the humanities.

In his article, Matthew Kirschenbaum, argues that humanities students should learn to program because it entails world making.  It gives us the ability to research and create animations, 3-d images, data visualizations and many different things and gives us a new way of expressing the Humanities. Kirschenbum mentions that “Computers should not be black boxes but rather understood as engines for creating powerful and persuasive models of the world around us.”  He then goes on and says that “The world around us (and inside us) is something we in the humanities have been interested in for a very long time.”  As humanists, we want to understand the emotional, historical, and societal aspects of humanity. Computers equip us with tools to advance our search for understanding the world.

Although I absolutely agree with Kirschnbaum’s article, I also agree with when Evan Donahue said in his article that “While programming will indeed usefully equip one better to understand computer scientific discourses, it should NOT be taken as the necessary precondition to engaging with the computer sciences…” Not everyone has access to or is able to learn coding or programing. That does not mean that they should be dismissed from the humanities field.

All in all, I believe that being able to code and program is a good thing. For one, it makes you cooler than the average person. Two, being able to code is like being multi-lingual. Employers like multi-linguists, so it might give you a boost on your search for whatever job you’re interested in. Lastly, coding helps us create and present in ways never seen before. Although honestly, coding and programming might not be the easiest thing ever but it’s doable. In my own experiences, knowing the basics of programming and coding has allowed me to create my own domain and manipulate different application to create whatever it is that I want. I have also learned It is a language I hope to become proficient in.

I recommend coding. 10/10.