Hi! My name is Alizey Sultan, and I am a second year student. I am planning (and hoping) to major in Political Science and Philosophy with a minor in Law & Society. My goal is to become a lawyer, who specializes in family law because I like the idea of working with family issues and…corporate law was too hard. A really great course that I recommend, for anyone interested in learning about human development and how family and the environment you grow up around affects you, is FMST 210. Also, I’m also originally from Pakistan but I moved to BC when I was two years old, so I’ve grown up learning about two different cultures side by side while also learning two different languages at the same time.
I didn’t really know what to expect when signing up for this course because I mainly did it with the intention of fulfilling my literature requirement. As I read the course description I was really excited that it was based on a contract because that meant it was up to me to reach my desired grade. Plus it gave me the chance to read books, which I haven’t really been able to do in a long time. After being forced to read The Leviathan for POLI 240, books based around race, sexuality, imagination (etc.) are a welcome breath of fresh air.
One thing that really stood out to me in the introduction video and changed my perspective on the structure of the course, was how with these readings we aren’t doing “history”. When I first read the different book descriptions my mind jumped straight to the idea that some of the books were going to be about how the different political movements and issues that were occuring at that time, affected people’s lives. I was too focused on how the contents of the book described, matched what was going on in history during that time. However, after the first lecture and finishing the video I began to understand the idea of “play” more. I also decided to “ditch” the literary analysis mindset that was embedded into me from high school english and instead adopt the mindset that a book can just be a book and doesn’t have to have every line dissected to find the “meaning”.
I am excited to start reading the books I’ve picked out and just learn about how literature can vary across cultures and that despite the different time periods, the books are interconnected in some sort of way.
Questions to think about: Do you ever picture what the setting or characters look like when you read a book? Is there a particular setting or mood that helps you read better?
Hi Alizey! I loved your blog post; I am also super interested in studying family, and I plan to minor in family studies! I took a class with contract grading last year, and it was my favourite class, so I’m hoping for the same outcome here! To answer your question, whenever I read a book, I always picture what the characters look like and their environment. I always imagine them differently than how they look in the movies, but I always prefer my descriptions over the actors if there is a movie. I always read better when I am comfortable, mostly on the couch at home. Coffee shops are too loud for me to focus on the book, but I want to try going with headphones and see if that helps me!
Hey Alizey!
I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I am in the same boat as you when taking this class, needing to fulfill my requirement. I wanted to be a lawyer a couple years ago too, but looking into it, it sounded too complex- so good job on you for pursuing it! I love watching crime and law (especially court cases) in my free time. After reading your comments about the lecture video, it made me realize I’m analyzing things too much still and should push that back more. As for your first question, yes! I definitely create an image of the character in my head. Although I love to be creative and imaginative, I hate when a movie comes out later and totally goes against everything I “believed” the character to look like.
Hi Alizey!
I’m also a Philosophy major, so feel free to message me any questions you may have about the major and the courses! I feel like you’ll love this course – it’s not history cut and dry but seems to convey a lot of human aspects of it in striking and resonating ways. In regards to your question, yes! I’m a very visual person, so I am basically watching a movie when I read anything fictional. Oddly enough, setting doesn’t really matter to me so long as I feel calm and excited about reading.
Hi Alizey!
Thanks for the course recommendation! I’ve really enjoyed learning about childhood development (I’ve run out of developmental PSYC courses to take, haha), so knowing that more courses exist that further emphasizes the impacts of family and environment on development is great.
In terms of your first question, I can only picture what the setting and characters look like when I get fully engulfed by a book, which is rare, but feels so incredible when it happens. Although I like when some of my favourite books get made into movies, when the scenes and characters don’t look anything like the ones in my imagination, I feel very let down.
For the second question, I like to light a candle and turn the lights down when I read. I find a relaxing environment helps me to focus on the book.
Good luck on this term, and see you in discussion!