Hello Everybody！Please allow me to make a brief self-introduction. My name is Cici Zheng and I am a fourth-year student, majoring in Asian Studies. I rarely read books in my spare time, and I usually choose to watch dramas, singing, or do some outdoor activities(e.g. hiking). Since, my daily school and part-time job have taken up most of my time, so I spend my free time avoiding things that require the use of my brain and thinking, so that my brain can be in a state of emptiness as much as possible. Therefore, this class is not only a way for me to fulfill the literature requirement of the arts department, but also a way to help me read more. For me, reading should be a process of developing independent thought and learning/discovering new things. However, people today live in an impatient, fast-paced, and internet-based society, where our attention is often drawn away by fragmented information. So, my expectation for this class is that it can bring back my interest in reading. Because, I was also a little girl who loved to read when I was little, I even read Romance of the Three Kingdoms secretly during my Chinese class, LOL. Moreover, when I was little, I used to go to the public library on weekends to read books that I was interested in, and in a way, it made me feel satisfied from the inside. Therefore, I feel that this class will allow me to pick up the habit of reading again. (Although, I can’t guarantee that every book will be one that I like and enjoy reading. But at least it will allow me to be able to take a moment to feel the written word again.) In addition, the contracted curriculum is a format that I have never experienced before, and I think it will be a very interesting course. Not only is it a refreshing change from the rigid, typical education system, but it also provides students with plenty of options. I am very much looking forward to this course! Regarding the question “where is the ‘Romance World’ ‘”, I subconsciously thought about European history and tried to remember a few territories that were once ruled by Rome. After watching the lecture video, I realized that Romance literature is a complex topic because it is connected to more complex issues of race, languages, culture, and thought/ideology, religions, ects. So, I’m very much looking forward to being able to read again to think about and discover how these questions are presented.