# What's the most romantic academic discipline? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 27, 2002, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084 "2002-10-27T06:24:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/21 "2002-10-29T04:55:36Z")
What about Spenserian? šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/22 "2002-10-29T04:57:01Z")
Evolutionary biology. ā€œBut Baby, Iā€™m all about perpetuating _your_ genes! And I really dig your phenotype.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/23 "2002-10-29T04:59:35Z")
Oh, sheesh, considering that weā€™re all just here talking about ourselves, how about Art History? Youā€™ve seen all the movies where the connoisseur/ conservator/ lecturer picks up people in museums by spouting nice sentences about pictures, right? (Doesnā€™t actually occur in real world, though) I think Iā€™d find ethnomusicologists appealing, and philosophy students as long as they donā€™t mention logic, Kant, or Mill/Hume/ any of those political phil guys. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/24 "2002-10-30T05:51:06Z")
**Achernar** , you traitor! Turning your back on your namesakeā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/25 "2002-10-30T06:06:44Z")
I remember many starlit nights sitting out in the middle of nowhere. Holding hands and watching the stars, while listening to the stories of mythology. Starcrossed lovers and gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines. Soft music would often be playing in the background and perhaps a glass of wine could be had. My wife and I enjoyed these star parties in our astronomy classes. Of course we werenā€™t married then, may be part of the reason we are now. We still sometimes huddle up in a quilt and pick out the constellations on a cool winter night. Ah-em excuse meā€¦I guess you know my vote by now. Peace ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/26 "2002-10-30T07:07:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Bad Astronomer \* > \*\ ***Achernar** , you traitor! Turning your back on your namesakeā€¦ \*\* You know, I would have picked astronomy, except for the simple fact that Iā€™m in it. I can suck the romance out of anything. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/27 "2002-10-31T04:12:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mandielise \* > \*\*Iā€™d go for either linguistics or cultural anthropologyā€¦ I love a guy who can talk dirty in any number of languagesā€¦ yet a cultural anthropologist is sensitive and thoughtful. Just in my experience, at least. \*\* I agree! I have a degree in cultural anthropology, and in college I was forever developing crushes on my fellow anth majors. They like learning about PEOPLE! They want to UNDERSTAND! Sighā€¦ I was a music minor for a while, too, and same thing happened with the music guys. I suppose itā€™s not totally impossible that these crushes could have been related to our similar interests, though. ---
**Author:** ![Medievalist2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@Medievalist2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medievalist2)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2002, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/28 "2002-11-07T07:11:45Z")
Medieval literature:) ---
**Author:** ![Coilean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Coilean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coilean)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2002, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/29 "2002-11-07T16:02:57Z")
Linguisitcs huh? HPSG, horn scales, semantic primes, DRT, formant bandwith, etc. though not without appeal, are nowhere near classical piano in terms of romance. ---
**Author:** ![Leifsmama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a698b9/32.png) [@Leifsmama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leifsmama)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/30 "2002-11-07T16:14:00Z")
I love classicists. Iā€™m not sure why, maybe itā€™s just all that ancient knowledge is so sexy! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/31 "2002-11-07T16:29:32Z")
A general rule is the romantic appeal of a degree is inversely proportional to the job prospects that degree will offer you once you graduate. In other words, all the ladies love the laid back philosophy major who spends his days playing ultimate frisbee and smokin upā€¦until he moves back into his parents house at 23. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2002, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/32 "2002-11-07T16:40:07Z")
Economics. No, really, it is. Ladies, come on over and look at my demand curve. Bow bow chicka chicka bowā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2002, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/33 "2002-11-07T16:51:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Medieval literature Ding! > [@](#): > > I love classicists. Iā€™m not sure why, maybe itā€™s just all that ancient knowledge is so sexy! Ding again! My degrees are in medieval history/literature and classical languages. šŸ™‚ > [@](#): > > A general rule is the romantic appeal of a degree is inversely proportional to the job prospects that degree will offer you once you graduate. In other words, all the ladies love the laid back philosophy major who spends his days playing ultimate frisbee and smokin upā€¦until he moves back into his parents house at 23. Please. Thatā€™s just a bitter business major/engineerā€™s excuse for wasting four good years studying material they despise. My training is thoroughly academic and Iā€™m doing extremely well for myself, thanks. Three of my high school friends who tried to get job training in college are living at home. Computer engineering, biomedical engineering, business. All of ā€˜em, drinking at their parentsā€™ houses. At least one of them has a job. I think thatā€™s the fate of anyone who wastes four years smoking up and playing ultimate, regardless of his/her choice of major. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/34 "2002-11-08T07:39:21Z")
Journalism. Thereā€™s nothing like seeing people dressed up. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084/35 "2002-11-08T08:43:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Romantic in what sense? Most likely to get you laid? Is this like that whole ā€œbad meaning goodā€ thing? Anyway, I had no idea linguistics was so romantic. Maybe I should go to grad school. -fh [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-romantic-academic-discipline/134084.md?page=1)