Hello everyone, I’m a third year student studying math and economics. I grew up in Surrey and commute to campus by car, which means my days usually start early and involve a lot of traffic. Outside of classes, I enjoy hiking, playing soccer, and being outdoors whenever possible. These things help keep me grounded, especially in busier parts of the term. Most of my classes so far have followed a pretty standard structure (lecture -> exam -> grades -> repeat), so this course is a lot different than any other i’ve taken.
Obviously the main difference is the contract grading system. I’ve never taken a class where you can pick your own grade/workload, I can see how it would take a lot of stress out of the course and makes it easier to focus on learning instead of constantly being worried about marks. Most classes I’ve taken that have discussion posts involve a lot of guessing what a grader wants. I do think this kind of grading system could work really well in certain other courses that don’t involve concrete right and wrong answers. I think anxiety around grades can sometimes make people play it safe instead of actually engaging with ideas.
The lecture this week, inventing romantic studies, gave me a lot to think about. Especially the question “Where is the Romance World?” At first, I interpreted it in a super literal sense. I thought about romance as something shaped by movies, TV shows, and stories we grow up with. As the lecture unfolded, it became clear that the idea of a single romance world doesn’t really hold up. There isn’t one place, or culture where romance exists in a fixed way. Thinking about romance in this way sort of stood out to me, it isn’t something that you can locate on a map or tie to a specific region but more just described/shaped by language, history, and interpretation.
What I’m most excited for in this course is the chance to actually talk through ideas instead of just absorbing them and moving on. I’m usually more reserved in larger classes, but I want to use this course as a chance to push myself to participate more. I’m looking forward to hearing other how other people’s interpretations on the same texts and questions differ, and hopefully those conversations can push me into thinking in ways I wouldn’t have been able to previously.
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