Coding – Should Humanities Students Learn How to Code?

HTML Dog, a website that offers tutorials in HTML, CSS, and Javascript, provides people with the opportunity to learn how to code. I feel that coding is important for anyone to learn, as creating/maintaining websites is becoming a very marketable skill.

Although it may not seem obvious, coding and the humanities have a lot on common. According to Matthew Kirschenbaum, learning to code is a necessity for humanities students.

Being able to code as a humanities student is important because it allows [humanities] students to create powerful and persuasive models of the world.

Matthew Kirschenbaum, https://mkirschenbaum.wordpress.com/2010/05/23/hello-worlds/

Kirschenbaum argues that coding gives humanities students the opportunity to present information about the world using unique and persuasive models. This is important for humanities students, as one of the objectives of humanities students is to respect and understand the world around them. (You can learn more about the objectives of the humanities here). By learning about coding, humanities students are able to present unique information, which allows them to better understand the world around them.

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH CODING:

My first experience with coding was fall term of my freshman year (this year). I took intro to computer science, and was captivated by how satisfying and fulfilling programming can be. I realized how big of an impact coding can have on the world, both by giving people the opportunity to present persuasive models, and by helping people learn how to organize complex ideas into a well-structured format. The course focused only on Python, which gave me a chance to polish my understanding of the basics of computer science. After taking intro to computer science, I can see why everybody should learn how to code.

After learning the basics of coding, people can make websites from scratch. Below is an example of a website using basic HTML, CSS, and Java:

  
  CSS Example
  
  

    





My first web page

What this is
A simple page put together using HTML. I said a simple page put together using HTML. A simple page put together using HTML. A simple page put together using HTML. A simple page put together using HTML. A simple page put together using HTML. A simple page put together using HTML. A simple page put together using HTML. A simple page put together using HTML.

Why this is

    To learn HTML
    
        To show off
        
            To my boss
            To my friends
            To my cat
            To the little talking duck in my brain
        
    
    Because I have fallen in love with my computer and want to give her some HTML loving.


Where to find the tutorial


Some random table

    
        Row 1, cell 1
        Row 1, cell 2
        Row 1, cell 3
    
    
        Row 2, cell 1
        Row 2, cell 2
        Row 2, cell 3
    
    
        Row 3, cell 1
        Row 3, cell 2
        Row 3, cell 3
    
    
        Row 4, cell 1
        Row 4, cell 2
        Row 4, cell 3
    


Some random form
Note: It looks the part, but won't do a damned thing.



Name:


Comments: 
Your comments

Are you:
 Male
 Female
 An hermaphrodite
 Asexual

Kirschenbaum, Matthew. “Hello Worlds (Why Humanities Students Should Learn to Program).” Matthew G. Kirschenbaum, 26 May 2010, mkirschenbaum.wordpress.com/2010/05/23/hello-worlds/.