I can’t say I’m not relieved that the school year is ending, but I still can’t believe how fast this term felt. I signed up for this class completely on a whim. I remember finding this course on a Reddit post at 2 a.m., and thought, sure, why not? I had no real idea what Romance Studies meant (I did not read the course description lol), and I definitely did not expect to spend a semester reading about stories from Paris, Cameroon, Italy, and all the way to colonial Indochina. And well, guess what happened…
This course was actually my first ever elective at UBC. The contract grading thing genuinely threw me off at first because I had never even heard of it existing, and lowkey didn’t believe it was true. The idea that I could decide upfront what grade I was working toward and then just do the work for it, without every single post being picked apart against a rubric, was just hard to believe (considering like, every other course I’ve taken in my life).
That said, I am not a big reader, so having weekly reading was genuinely something I had to make time for, as I am not a quick reader either. To be honest, some of these books I would never have picked up on my own in any universe. Nadja is not something I would have found myself reading on a random Tuesday night unprompted. Like, to give this course its credit, I don’t even think I would have known of the existence of some of these authors if it weren’t for it. However, going through such a wide range of authors, styles, time periods, and parts of the world gave me a much broader sense of what literature can actually look like and what it can do. Not every book worked for me but I think the variety was the whole point. You’re bound to enjoy at least one thing.
The course description talks about hoping students were affected by what they read, and I think that’s probably the most honest measure of whether a literature class actually succeeded in doing anything. Some of these books actually stuck with me. The Impatient is probably the one that stuck with me the most (recency bias, maybe?), but because it genuinely feels impactful and frankly, quite disheartening.
Thanks to Prof. John, the TAs, and everyone else I’ve met through this course. Wishing everyone good luck on their finals and a fun summer break 🙂
3 replies on “RMST 202: A Conclusion”
“going through such a wide range of authors, styles, time periods, and parts of the world gave me a much broader sense of what literature can actually look like and what it can do.”
Yay! That’s what we hope!
And yes, I agree with you on The Impatient… it’s a powerful book, but also, yes, “disheartening” for sure.
I’m glad you went with your “whim” and then stuck with the course!
Thanks for all your contributions!
Omg, I also agree that The Impatient has left a mark on me, because it easily translated the emotions of the characters onto the readers, and I felt so much DREAD AND RAGE. I guess that’s another important thing about Literature! It’s use in perspective, and putting us into other peoples shoes, whether they’re victims, impoverished, criminals, or even dead! (cough* Shrouded Women).
I’m just like you with how I discovered this course, although it’s actually my last elective before I graduate because this was supposed to be me double checking my literature requirement! I also wouldn’t have picked up most of these books in my lifetime, but it was definitely a learning experience. I agree, The Impatient is probably the book that will stick with me the most, for a multitude of reasons.