I reject this premise. I believe that humanities students should have a basic understanding of the logic behind computer technologies and commonly used programs, but they do not necessarily need to know how to write code. These are two different things.
I started learning coding six years ago, primarily to solve algorithmic problems through outcome-oriented programming. Even back then, I realized that coding was not the core of those algorithmic problems—the mathematical thinking behind the code was. During a four-hour competition, we would spend three hours simulating and calculating on scratch paper rather than editing code on a compiler. This became even more apparent in college. When I took the CS course Algorithm, we barely wrote any code during the entire term. Our professor focused on teaching us data structures and algorithmic thinking. However, learning these high-level concepts does not necessarily require learning to code. I strongly agree with one line from Donahue’s post:
To think of the computer sciences as one “computer science” unified by the language of code makes as much sense as thinking of the humanities as one discipline united by the language of English.
A “Hello World” Apart, Evan Donahue
For me, code is simply a tool for achieving goals. Code is not synonymous with computer science, nor is it the core of the field. Many web developers cannot understand PHP code, even though PHP was once very popular in web development. Similarly, many C programmers cannot understand assembly language (including me), even though assembly language is the foundation of C. Therefore, in the context of CS, code is not the only way to understand the field. In fact, as we increasingly use IT tools, the act of writing code itself is becoming less and less important. During this winter break, I worked at a small company developing a mobile app. I was responsible for organizing and displaying data on the backend. I used NestJS, and in this system with over 30 files and roughly 600 lines of code, the part I actually wrote myself was as follows:
import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core';
import { AppModule } from './app.module';
import { SwaggerModule, DocumentBuilder } from '@nestjs/swagger';
async function bootstrap() {
const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule);
const config = new DocumentBuilder()
.setTitle('Median')
.setDescription('The Median API description')
.setVersion('0.1')
.build();
const document = SwaggerModule.createDocument(app, config);
SwaggerModule.setup('api', app, document);
await app.listen(3000);
}
bootstrap();The rest of the work was done by downloading and connecting frameworks via the terminal. Thus, I believe that learning the fundamentals of computer technologies is more important than learning to code—it is also more relevant to the needs of humanistic research.
In the CS courses I have taken, I have encountered many insights that overlap with sociology. For example, Reddit’s recommendation algorithm allow discriminatory groups to continually reform after being banned. Similarly, while Facebook offers users multiple gender options, its underlying code still represents gender as binary—0 and 1. These sociological topics, which depend on IT tools, do not rely on specific coding skills. In fact, many of the societal issues related to technology involve technical details that are too advanced for even CS students. Therefore, I believe that humanities students do not need to fully understand every line of code; instead, we should focus on the broader ideas of information technology.
5 thoughts on “Week 2 Lab Post”
Leave a Reply to shearerj Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Great job Harry! I appreciate how, right off the bat, you made your position clear. More so, the personal experience complemented by an excerpt from Donahue to support your position was interesting to read about, thoughtful, and compelling. There’s a Mark Twain quote I really like: “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” I feel like your post exemplifies the concise, persuasive content Twain makes reference to that takes shape when we allow ourselves enough time. Well done 🙂
While I took a different position in my post I definitely agree with your position. Coding is a very specialized field where people can spent 30 years of their career focusing on a specific area such as cyber security and even in some cases a specific framework and or language. In terms of humanities, I believe all that is required is a simple base understanding. With this, you are able to engage with and utilize technologies that are available. Humanities scholar do not need to build full stack applications or solve complex coding problems. All they need to be able to do is understand code enough to leverage already existing options effectively.
I agree with your point that humanities students should not need to learn to code, and I appreciate your argument that what is of real importance is understanding the logic behind the code. I argued something similar, in that I think that even without a deep understanding of coding, those in the humanities can easily understand the basic rules and structures of code without knowing how to generate code. In this way, as you argue, scholars can focus on the actual ideas behind the code, not the mechanism by which they are communicated.
As your coworker (though in a different department) during winter break, I appreciate your hard work on making everything work. As someone who holds the same position, I think your argument from a perspective of CS major student adds extremely important value to our side. I still remember your analogy to driving vehicles during the debate in class, which is quite impressive and compelling. Yes, we don’t need to understand how engine works to drive a car, we don’t need to what the code behind is to play video games, and we can mostly handle everything without knowing every single detail of the mechanism behind it. As you said, code is a tool, rather than the final destination we need to arrive.
I really appreciate your perspective on this! You raise a valid point that understanding the logic and concepts behind computer technologies is more important than knowing how to write code itself. Your experience in algorithmic problem-solving competitions and your college coursework highlights that coding is just a tool for applying mathematical thinking and logic. I also agree with your observation that many technical issues in fields like sociology or media studies don’t require deep coding skills but rather a broad understanding of how technology shapes and reflects societal values. Your example of Reddit’s recommendation algorithm and Facebook’s binary representation of gender really shows how these systems reflect underlying biases that can be better understood without needing to write the code itself. It’s clear that coding is just one piece of the puzzle, and having a fundamental understanding of the broader tech concepts can make a huge difference in analyzing and critiquing modern digital systems.