Hey everyone! I’m Kendra, a third-year psych student, currently questioning my choice of major (maybe a little late for that). I’ve always loved reading and creative writing, and the more time I’ve spent in the world of academia, the more I’ve started to crave classes that allow space for creativity and flexibility (which doesn’t happen very often in psych). I’m excited about the self-determined structure of this course and the way it allows us to learn on our own terms. I chose this course because I truly enjoy literature and the worlds it opens up to us, so I’m looking forward to reading these texts and having some fun class discussions!

I’m expecting the semester to be challenging, and while I would like to devote as much time as possible to this class, I know that other commitments will come up and complicate things. Time management will definitely be key, but I think the class discussions will be a motivating factor. Knowing that everyone else has put in the time to do the readings and that they have valuable insights to share will be helpful when it comes to finishing the novels on time. I think it’ll be fun to look at the texts from a range of perspectives and see things expanded on that I wouldn’t have necessarily noticed myself. I also appreciate the pre-watch lecture aspect of the class, which will provide some context heading into each novel, some of which I’m sure will be more challenging than others.

I particularly enjoyed the first conversation video, where Jon broke down what Romance Studies actually represents, and explains how the field has often been misconstrued/misinterpreted in the past. Hearing from two people who are clearly knowledgeable and passionate about the subject (Jon and his brother) really helped me get a clearer picture of what this course will entail, and how we might go about interpreting these texts. One of the points made in this conversation was the idea that language shapes thought and culture, which Jon disputes as an outdated and inaccurate representation. He refers to the Romance languages as “Latin’s bastard offspring”, given that this was the official language of the Roman Empire,  and urges us to escape “national canons” often associated with each language. I liked this idea of the “unruly family” of romance languages, and how bringing them all together, rather than dividing them into distinct categories, can actually enrich our understanding of the literature.

Okay, that’s it for now! Thanks for reading.