Hello!
Introduction
My name is Puneet Dulla and I am from Surrey, BC. I was born and raised in Surrey which is not to far out from Vancouver. I commute to and from UBC which is not as bad as it may seem. I am a second year student here at UBC and I am currently studying Psychology with a minor in Laso. I have found both fields to be quite interesting and a bit surprised at the overlap of content in both subject areas. I plan on becoming a lawyer in the future with a specific interest in criminal law. Further, throughout my education journey, English and literature have not always been my strongest subject but I am intrigued about Romance Studies which is why I took this class. I also took this class as it fulfills my literature requirement.
Expectations
As per my expectation of this course, I hope to achieve a good mark (A), but obtaining this mark will not be easy and require a great deal of work and effort. One aspect that I believe that will make this course a bit less intimidating is the concept of using blog posts instead of essays or “exams”. Blogs allow for peers to engage with each other and delve into each others thoughts. I also like this concept of blogs as it allows for exploration in different topics and readings of our choice instead of being pressurized to succeed by doing formal pieces of writing. Although, I am in the Arts faculty I do not enjoy writing essays as much and am sure some of my classmates will be able to relate. Although I am not a huge fan of essay writing, I hope to leave this course as a stronger reader as well as a more insightful and thoughtful thinker.
Response to the Lecture
The first lecture was quite informative as it provided context of the course as well as provided a background to romance studies. One concept that I liked about this lecture is how there was a collaborative aspect in which peers got to share their experiences with reading and novels. Everyone is not a fan of reading which is okay but hearing others who are interested and dedicated readers could be quite inspiring. Furthermore, it is helpful to learn about what makes reading “good” and “bad”. Also, another fact that I found interesting from this lecture is how the language of romance studies shares a common latin root.
With that being said, I am looking forward to this semester and what this course has to offer. I hope everyone has a good semester!
Hi Puneet, great blog post! I think it’s really cool you’re kind of stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a class that’s reading heavy, even when you’re not a big fan of literature. I also share your sentiment about the structure of this course. It’s really a breath of fresh air to not have papers to write and instead be a lot more free with our thinking.
Nice to meet you, Puneet! I am also a fellow commuter, but I am only fifteen minutes away from campus. I can also agree with you that the idea of blogs is much less daunting than long essay writing, as I am also not a fan of essay writing. Likewise, I truly hope the idea of the blogs will help us further understand each other’s thoughts and ideas. Best of luck this semester!
Puneet, please don’t be intimidated by blog writing. They are actually a way to explore your reactions to the books in this course. And remember, you don’t have to worry about “incorrect readings.” These blogs are a space to be creative in our misreadings.
Hi Puneet! Blogs are also quite new for me, but I think it is a useful platform for us to learn and share ideas and thoughts with our classmates. I can also relate to how writing essays is not my favourite task to do. As an economics major, I am more comfortable with math and stats, but hopefully we can improve together as writers and critical thinkers. See you in class!