Hello everyone! My name is Ren Koyama. I’m a fourth-year Arts student majoring in Political Science and minoring in Sociology. I was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan but I came to Vancouver in grade 10 and graduated high school here in Vancouver. In my free time, I love watching sports, especially baseball and UFC, but I genuinely watch(and sometimes bet on…) many sports. I also like outdoor activities such as skiing, hiking, and just relaxing at the beach with my friends. Wreck Beach is my favourite spot on campus by a mile.
To be honest, I’m not big of a book person but I’m excited to expose myself to various literature that I have not got my hands on before. I took WRDS150A instead of English in my first year and I have been writing many academic essays through my years at UBC. I spent quite a bit of time learning academic writing; nonetheless, my experience in learning more creative literature from different cultures has definitely been limited. I believe this is a great opportunity for me to grapple with different writings in Spanish, French, Portuguese etc, that broadens the scope of my Arts degree. Academic papers can sometimes be too formal and boring that they become disengaging. I think reading and analyzing literature in Romance Studies can also add more creativity and cohesion to my academic writing
From the Week 1 lecture video, I found it very interesting when the professor mentioned there is no geographical center in Romance Studies and thus it is a deterritorialized discipline. That is why “nobody can speak for Romance Studies or can claim to be closer to its source. Here we are all strangers”. I was wondering how interacting with literature in English translation would be different from learning it in Romance languages. I thought we might miss out on some aspects of the original literature but it was nice to know that it is actually appropriate to study Romance literature in English translation since it is not tied to a specific place or culture. I’m thrilled to engage with many writings I’m unfamiliar with this term.
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Ken, I can guarantee you that this course will be anything but boring, the readings are good and the comments with classmates are very interesting. Now I am intrigued to know how you will read the novels from Sociology and Political Science… you have a lot to contribute to the class!