/lit/ - Literature

>>15678865
When i wake up, i usually read a chapter or two. I study and engage in other activities during the day, and when i go to bed i read some more. That way, you're waking and falling asleep in a relaxing and enjoyable manner. Also, i'm deeply interesting in my studies, so i may also read pertinent literature for fun in those periods.
>t. Assyriology student

>>15679097
>>t. Assyriology student
Got any recommendations on Sumerian and Babylonian mythology?

>>15679130
>The Treasures of Darkness - A History of Mesopotamian Religion by Thorkild Jacobsen
is still one of the seminal chronological overviews. It is very recommended.
>Andrew George - The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts
Is the current scholarly pillar for Gilgamesh studies, although this is more geared toward Assyriologists than casual readers.
>N.K. Sandars - Poems of Heaven and Hell from Ancient Mesopotamia
good, if a bit dated translation of some significant Mesopotamian religious texts dealing with the heavens/netherworld

These should be good for a start. Jacobsen also contains many translations of selected passages, but not whole texts as Sandars.

>>15679130
Also, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary is a great overview/compendium of many central terms in Mesopotamian spiritual and religious thought.

>>15678865
Outgoing history student here. I read what my classes tell me to and nothing else; I can't find the time. I have very little life outside of classes, but I genuinely love my studies/ professors. Sometimes feel that I'm the only person who actually does the reading. I get tremendously drunk about twice a month with a couple of economics/philosophy majors because everyone else in the humanities is insufferable. Looking back economics majors are probably the best people at college. Business majors are trash though. This is basically the entirety of my social life. Other then that my romantic life consisted of desperately longing after an afro-vietnamese Californian evangelical libertarian who I was friends with. I go to church and I know that half of the catholic cuties would say yes to a date, but I'm about to leave town. I've enjoyed college, but I feel that the way it's portrayed in American pop culture is completely inaccurate. I'm a slow reader in a discipline that's basically all reading so I just listen to audio books in the shower, when I'm cooking, or when I do laundry. I do regularly have hour long chats with my professors during office hours which I love.

Do people actually do this? Do they actually get an education in something that isn’t math, physics, engineering, medicine, or CS? There are actually people who get an education in history in history and social studies are there? Just think about that

>>15679264
Why not study what you enjoy and want to learn?
>>15679130
Also, find an edition of the Enuma Elish by W.G. Lambert. It was considered the central and most important religious text at least in Neo-Babylonian times.

>>15679213
Big thanks, I were actually checking out >>15679230 in order to familiarise myself
a bit with all the important personas, now I know where to go from there on.

>>15679283
You are welcome. If you're interested in the mythology in comparison to the Biblical, ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement'' by James Pritchard is indispensable.

>>15679264
>Do people actually do this?
Shhhhh no they don't, go back to sleep

>>15679264
Well, think about it. If they graduate in STEM then who will serve me coffee?

In the early morning I go for a coffee and read what I'm interested in (which coincidentally is about what I'm writing my thesis), after that I read what I have to for exams and meet up with study group.

Early morning is best time to enjoy the day with doing what you like including some gym time, after that your capacity and mood falls to shit levels so use it for shit stuff you don't like that much.

>t. history student

>>15678865
I didn't really read much on my own before last summer. I'm a philosophy graduate student. Last summer I decided to make use of my free time to read, and I managed to read a few books, not all philosophy, but still not very many. This summer I started earlier. Right now my routine is to read 50 pages a day, I usually split it into 10 or 20 page reading chunks throughout my day. It's worked out well so far. But I'm doing it during Summer. We'll see if I can keep it up when school starts again.

>>15679264
One of the greatest failings in STEM today is that the culture surrounding STEM fails to appreciate the importance of the humanities.

If I were in charge, STEM majors would take at least 1 humanities class (literature, history, art, cultural/gender studies) per semester/quarter. (Before anyone flips, I would have humanities majors take 1 STEM class per semester/quarter as well.)

>>15679097
>>15679213
Are you U Chicago?

b

>>15679264
>t. bugman

>>15678865
I was a classics/history undergrad until recently. I did Monday to Friday balls to the wall studying and assignments. Saturdays and Sundays I did whatever I wanted, met friends, read for pleasure, played vidya. Rinse and repeat for 4 years and I actually got a decent education. I sat in on quite a few psychology and philosophy classes too because I occasionally had some spare time. Fun times

when i’m not stuck at home, i go to the library for 8-14 hours to read and write, or split my day between my office and the library w/ the same amount of time dedicated to studying. i punctuate my day with coffee breaks and walks and in the morning, i exercise, but i genuinely love my research and enjoy devoting most of every day to it. when i get home i make dinner and then have maybe a glass of wine or a cup of tea and take a bath to establish some kind of homecoming ritual so that i can have an endpoint for my day. the Zoom shit threw my vibe off though so i’m just getting back into my readings (library is still closed but not having fake school looming over my head makes reading easier) before bed i like to read fiction because if i read for work i cannot fall asleep—it wakes my brain up too much.

i’m trying to develop a work schedule in the interim while nothing is open but when campus is alive this works well for me.

>>15680037
This

>>15680037
>gender studies
If you really wanted to put the final nail in the coffin of humanities this is a great idea. The humanitites in this day and age is its own worst enemy. Large parts of it is simply not worthy of respect. The reasons for this goes back to the expansion of universities in the 60s which combined with the 68 movement and the abandonment of the idea of Bildung (google it there is no proper english translation) which was replaced by activism created a perfect storm.
It really is a shame but i think at this point the only way of going back is a massive downsizing that ensures that the only people that go into the humanities are the ones that are there because of their passion for the subject and not "i didn't know what study and i guess i like art" types.

>>15680037
This. I'm not a STEM inclined person at all but I could see myself benefiting from some economics and stats type courses. Just a good thing to have in one's toolbelt.

>>15682485
the best way to go about this should be to create praxis oriented fly trap degrees that the uninformed/unmotivated/"only there for the money" students flock to. In Germany you can get degrees like business-mathematics, business-computer science or business-engineering and other variations combining raw fields of study with media studies etc. . I genuinely believe that these are just huge fucking memes to keep the degradation of unis in check without having to resort to tuition.

>>15679264
I'm getting one because I already have a microbiology degree, get fucked frogposter.

>>15682817
okay but how does that help the state of disrepair in the humanities?

>>15680005
Based. Got any recommendations for a philosophy undergrad?

in grad school I slept all day, ate horribly and drank often, and read whatever I felt like when I felt like

>>15683336
Based. Did you graduate though?

>>15679130
so you study ass?

>>15680037
Most STEM programs already do this. I’m required to take a certain number of humanities courses to graduate. The catch is that barring ~10% of autists in STEM who can’t grasp creative ideas, the humanities courses are a joke compared to any of our STEM courses. It doesn’t work the same the other way; most humanities students would crash in fail in something as easy as Multi-Var Calc. We gain technical writing skills drafting reports and have upwards of double the workload of non-STEM students, while they never got math fundamentals in school or refuse to apply themselves. Philosophy students seem to be the exception in my experience.

I agree with you in regards to the failure of many STEM-bugmen to appreciate the arts and humanities, it’s something that disappoints me when I ask my buddies if they’ve read anything lately and they gawk at me. Though many of the really smart profs and researchers I’ve interacted with seem to escape the typical consumerist nerd mould that you would expect.

You must at least admit that the barrier to entry for academia has been lowered by arts and humanities programs

>>15680037
>If I were in charge, STEM majors would take at least 1 humanities class (literature, history, art, cultural/gender studies) per semester/quarter.
This is already implemented to a certain extent, and doesn't work. The reason why is because a lot of humanities departments deliberately offer easy first or second-year courses (in English departments you see courses like "Detective Fiction", "Science Fiction", "Comic Books", etc.) that are pretty much bait for STEM students who need an easy humanities credit. The advantage to the humanities departments is that they end up with plenty of classes with 100 to 200 students which helps them bulk up the numbers when they ask for more funding in the next fiscal year. The students learn nothing but still get their credit, and the department gets the funding it badly needs to keep the lights on and run the more rigorous courses that have far fewer students.

>>15682485
This, absolutely
I know psych is sort of pseudo humanity pseudo stem (it isnt stem unless you gravitate towards hard statistical/ biology end of things (which I have)) but holy fuck is it full of retards and said retards completely by into the W&GS dogma
I think the only means of rectifying this in psych would be the emphasis on those aforementioned stem ends aswell as a firm grounding in the great psych works of the recent past.
The latter point i especially stress because of the incessant need for activist minded social psych-oriented professors to endlessly shit on people like Freud because of their problematic stances. They completely throw the baby out with the bathwater. My gf (also a psych major) was assigned to read a book on Freud thats only goal was to critique with no raw dissemination of his ideas
Fuck nu humanities

>>15683380
No. Every day I live is one of pure undiluted pain.

>>15683380
Yes, a semester early and with a completed thesis. Might as well not have, as this anon who is not me >>15684245 is otherwise correct.

>>15680037
Literacy in the humanities for STEM people, and scientific literacy for humanities people, should be the goal but as based triplet poster points out >>15684000 requiring courses courses is not the way unless both change. If humanities courses were to emulate the rigor and courseload of STEM, this would impress the STEMlords in the classes some but it would defeat the purpose. Likewise if humanities students took science courses that were loose and friendly in emulation of humanities courses. In the present state of the disciplines, both humanities and STEM students often come away from required courses in the other discipline hating and misunderstanding them.
Finding a way to inculcate a deep appreciation for both is what must be done, and that likely has to happen long before students reach college.

>>15679264
I did electrical engineering but I got a minor in philosophy, their is nothing wrong with learning the humanities in university.

>>15679264
If you pick the right university you can get work in government, business, or law enforcement (a LEO can major in whatever, really.

>>15684000
>You must at least admit that the barrier to entry for academia has been lowered by arts and humanities programs
I'd say it's business that's done that, more than anything.
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-majors/
Number one major, and barely any one of them have a passion for it as an intellectual discipline. Just a magic job factory.
>We gain technical writing skills drafting reports and have upwards of double the workload of non-STEM students
>We gain technical writing skills drafting reports
I've know former EE students who haven't written a paper in years.
So I would question that, based on the people I've talked to. The workload is different, but it's not lacking in burden. An EE might have some dense problems to work with, but a polsci student might have to write 40 well researched and documented pages for one class.
>it’s something that disappoints me when I ask my buddies if they’ve read anything lately and they gawk at me.
I appreciate that about you, but it shows that the big killer for university is turning it into a glorified job factory. Honestly, I've met so many engineering students that suck balls at it and get straight Cs. It's depressing to think some have boner about their major when they're struggling through it for the job, rather than have a real love for mathematics and engineering as a discipline. I've met some EE majors that barely comprehend the concept of an imaginary or complex number, but they slog through the coursework somehow.

Many of the engineering jobs in this country could be reduced to a trade school, especially in the civil realm. In fact, there's a good portion in the civil engineering industry that's done by a trade-based educated group, draftsmen.
But I just wish the business side would disperse and university would return to offering students a rich way to become better citizens in the educated class, in the tradition of Cicero.

>>15678865
>humanities
lol bunch of future NEETS in this thread
grow up and study STEM faggots

>>15685252
Yeah but how much LINK do you hold? If less than 10k you're guaranteed to not make it for the coming decades. KYS STEM fag. BTW, if you're not in CS or Math+Stats you're NGMI

>>15679264
Believe it or not, there are even people who get an education in education :^)

>>15685252
>>15679264
>>15679568
It seems like at uni and online, no matter where you go, there is a very loud STEM voice and it always cries the same tune. Why are STEM majors so insecure? If they truly felt so secure and successful in their study surely they wouldn't need validation for their hard work by constantly reminding everyone of their sacrifice.
>>15685243
this guy gets it.

>>15686510
>>15686510
What in the name of basedbeans!

>>15684277
Nice. My country's very lax when it comes to semesters studied, and very bureaucratic too, so at this point I don't even know when I'll graduate. Feels bad and unaccomplished, man.

>>15679264
Maths and Theoretical physics are just gay forms of philosophy for gays

being a neet for a while wasn't so bad, now i'm studying philosophy. won't mind going back to NEETdom once i finish my degree. i just prefer the structure of the degree and also lectures in person are much nicer than watching them on youtube or reading secondary literature. also you get some good writing practice you wouldn't otherwise.

>>15687186
>i just prefer the structure of the degree and also lectures in person are much nicer than watching them on youtube or reading secondary literature.
Our semester has been digital and honestly it's the best of both worlds. Especially in winter when it's much too cold and dark to go out.

Kill yourself

got a classics degree, which in hindsight was dumb not because of its nature but rather that I never once had to learn latin nor was it required, which should've been a litmus test to see which university I should go to. Overall however I enjoyed my time there and might do some postgrad if I feel like.

>>15687412
I hate online, I can barely get anything done, I know its largely a me thing for not having the motivation, but I miss the library so goddamn much, would do all my work there.

>>15680062
Nope.

>>15687456
I think I'm in the minority with liking it. Idk, material still needs to get done in order to pass the module, so I can't put it off. It's so goddamn nice to wake up everyday, get to pick out what to study, have a clear goal ahead of me, take snack and shit breaks whenever I want to.

>>15683859
>Yes, I am an Egyptologist, how could you tell?

>>15687412
i'm in the same boat as >>15687456. especially lectures really motivated me, as well as spending a lot of time in the library. at home, i slack around more often, find it hard to give myself structure to study and do easier things. just started studying couple days ago for the exams :(

bump

>>15680037
I did both and I tell you, don't force people to take courses they don't care for. You will get surface level shit which annoys people which kills everyones time who would take these serious
>my dog has feelings
>duh... what's the color of this number

bui

Work 8 hours a day, every day, except Sunday when I go for a walk in the countryside by myself listening to music. I am an economics student

>>15692514
What do you earn?

>>15692570
Nothing. I am a student. When I said work, I meant studying

I almost read nothing that is 'required' because I can almost always find superior sources of information. My uni is shit tier and the profs are low paid hacks that assign civilian texts instead of just giving us the real deal.

>>15686683
it's because there's been a very calculated, negative framing of academia as of late. conservative types shilling for either STEM or trades because that's allegedly the only way to make money anymore. The people that parrot these memes are either cynical ideologues hoping for a gold star from the Koch brothers or somebody who actually fell for the propaganda and wants to endlessly validate their unpleasant life choice.

That's not counting the people who go into STEM with a genuine appreciation for the material, which is decidedly less nowadays.