My name is Tolu, and I am really excited to be in this class! I am an out of province student, and my family lives in Ontario. Yes, I am from the Six, and no, I cannot do the Toronto accent. I am also in my third year, and I am studying political science.
I am particularly fascinated by the world of policy creation (both in the public and private sphere), and love engaging in conversations that ask, ‘how can we address this emerging problem?’. In a sense, that is why I love reading. I love reading about a problem in a book, whether in the form of a villain, or in the challenge to know oneself, and seeing how the author chooses to resolve this problem. For me, I like to pause and think about whether the ending the author has chosen is satisfactory or subpar. Based on my answer to this question, I like to invent possible alternative endings based on my understanding of the book I read.
Enrolling in this class, beyond it fulfilling my literature requirement, is like a challenge to myself. I want to see if I can engage with more recognized pieces and as a side note, I would really like to confirm my reading speed…. To that effect, I look forward to reading different kinds of genres from what I usually engage in (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mystery). Given the selection of texts in this class, I expect to widen my literary horizons, and foresee that I will likely also engage in a fair bit of criticism. Most definitely, the time I spend writing responses and blogs will replace the time I spend reading Goodreads reviews (which in my opinion are AMAZING pieces of literature).
Onto the lecture…
I liked the idea about the deterritorialized nature of Romance literature. That it belongs no where and to no one is intriguing. In political science, I am accustomed to engaging with theories that clearly originate from somewhere and belong to people. I am also used to engaging in critiquing theories only through strict lenses e.g.: decolonial ways of critique. Learning that no one can claim truly claim to know and speak for romance studies instills in me a sense of confidence stepping into this class. I don’t have to analyze a text through a special lens just because it was written in Spanish, for example. I can simply read, feel, and speak/write my mind concerning the text I read and be correct (or at least, not entirely wrong).
I hope this made sense 🙂 ????????
Warmly,
Tolu
2 replies on “Introduction: Hello!”
Hi Tolu, and welcome to the course! I like the idea of “invent[ing] possible alternative endings” to what we are reading. You’ll see this possibility raised in Proust’s text, when the narrator’s mother reads to him, and he invents new endings for what she is reading.
Hi Tolu! Stepping into this class, I possess a similar excitement surrounding the fact that we will have the opportunity to “read, feel, and speak/write” our minds while reading literary texts. It feels refreshing to not be confined to analyzing texts through a particular lens – something that is often expected of us in most academic courses.