With a Bachelor of Science in physics and a Master’s in radioastronomy under her belt, Jennifer Murphy entered Britain’s 1960s workforce with a bang.
In the years that followed, Murphy built for herself an impressive career in the sciences, moving to Canada to help monitor the Earth through satellite imaging as a physical scientist at the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing and serving as a science policy advisor for Natural Resources Canada.
Now retired and in her late 70s, Murphy is once again crossing the academic stage to collect her third degree – a Bachelor of Humanities from Carleton University.
In the lead-up to convocation – her first in 56 years – Murphy took time to reflect on her experiences in the College of the Humanities and why the liberal arts called to her after a lifetime of scientific pursuits.
Congratulations on getting through the end of the semester and your upcoming graduation! How are you feeling about it all?
I am so excited to have accomplished this, especially at this stage in my life. Graduating students usually spend their final year dreaming about life after university and starting their careers. In my case, the question I’m thinking about is: What’s next?
What led to your decision to go back to school, and why did you choose Carleton for your second undergraduate degree?
I had no interest in the humanities growing up – in fact, the only exam I ever failed in high school was English literature! And I was no good at art or music either. So, I studied science when I was young. I got a degree in physics and then a master's degree in astronomy – which was tough to do as a woman in 1960s England, but I persevered. And then, towards the end of my career, I moved into policy. I retired in 2007 and started travelling to Nepal every year to teach English to young women who were training to be trekking guides. I would also spend a few weeks traveling with them up in the mountains and then return to Canada for the summer.
I did that for eight or nine years and then started asking myself – as I often seem to do! – “OK, what’s next?” So, I started signing up for lectures and workshops through the Lifelong Learning Program at Carleton. One of them happened to be about Plato's Republic, taught by Dr. D. Gregory MacIsaac from the College of the Humanities. Toward the end of the class, Dr. MacIssac said that if anybody in the class was interested in doing a degree in humanities, we’d love you to come to Carleton. I thought about it and the very next week I went to the College to see if I was eligible to enrol – I haven't looked back since!
What was it about that series on Plato’s Republic that really hooked you?
Well, it’s an absolutely fascinating book and gave me the opportunity to really think about what the truth or essence of life is. Plato has that famous analogy of the cave, which he uses to explain that you never really see things as they truly are. That same motivation to want to understand the world better is also why I first started studying astronomy in my youth.
Tell me about your experiences as a student in the College of the Humanities. Do you have any favourite memories from your time at the College?
The Bachelor of Humanities at Carleton is a very special program. Going in on the first day of the semester, I was wondering, “What are these 20-year-olds going to think of this grey-haired old lady coming to class?” But right from the get-go, there was this wonderful dialogue and discussion between everyone.
I think it’s so critical that people from all walks of life – whatever their background and whatever their age – should be free to talk with each other. Jennifer Murphy, Bachelor of Humanities '23
I think it’s so critical that people from all walks of life – whatever their background and whatever their age – should be free to talk with each other.
When there were class discussions, it was obvious that my viewpoint was different from theirs, but I learned from them, and they learned from me. I was free to ask as many questions as I wanted, and my questions weren’t smarter or sillier than anybody else's. We all fit in, and that was really refreshing.
And all the books! Just being able to read so many books and learn different ideas about life, about the universe, about everything.
Two books that really stood out to me were Hannah Arendt’s On the Human Condition and Plotinus’ Enneads. I'm a bit disappointed that it's come to an end; however, I've already bought two new books to read in the coming months: On the Nature of Things by Lucretius and Stephen Hawking's On the Origin of Time. In a way, I haven't finished studying just yet!
How do the humanities and science intersect in your mind? Are they completely separate interests, or do they complement each other and your way of thinking about the world?
A science mind works in a very particular logical sequence. But in the humanities, it doesn't work that way. You've got to consider why other people think about things the way they do and understand their trains of thought, even if they’re very different from your own.
When I transitioned from working as a scientist at Natural Resources Canada to becoming the science policy advisor for the Minister of Natural Resources, I thought about the difference between those two spheres as two parallel universes with a black hole in between them. For me, as a scientist, it felt like I was going through a black hole, feeling my body get all stretched out and pulled, but then coming out on the other side and realizing, “Oh, this is a parallel universe, but it's just as viable and reasonable as the one I was just in.” I would say that it was the same going from science to the humanities. There was some difficulty involved in the process, but I learned so much while studying in the College that really changed my way of approaching things.
So, what’s next? Any post-grad plans in the works?
I really enjoyed getting to spend time around younger people – the enthusiasm is infectious! In addition to continuing my reading, I’m thinking about volunteering at a youth organization near me or maybe dipping my toes into local politics.
As I graduate, the message I would just love to get out to everybody is: Talk to your retired parents, your grandparents and your friends, and encourage them to consider doing a university degree as a mature student! I had an absolute blast doing the BHums program, and I don't regret any moment of it.