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/lit/ - Literature

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10430957 No.10430957 [Reply] [Original]

i'm 30 and going to college for the first time next year. i'd like to take a literature class but i've never read a book in my life. would taking a literature class be a bad idea /lit/? i don't think i'll have the time to read a lot of books, but i do have an interest in books and i'd like to learn to understand and appreciate literature. i'd like to view the world through a different lens

>> No.10430983

You could pick a class with a certain topic and then learn a little about that topic before attending. For example if you take a class on English literature, you could read a brief history of English literature and some online sources about it, and maybe a handful of major but approachable books.

Try googling the thing you're interested in (like English literature or French literature) plus "the great courses."
https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/classics-of-british-literature.html
https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/classics-of-russian-literature.html
All the Great Courses (also known as The Teaching Company or TTC) stuff is easily pirated on torrent websites.

Some univesrities also have free courses online:
https://oyc.yale.edu/NODE/106
(Yale has an Intro to Literaty Theory course but it probably isn't what you want at all)

One thing to keep in mind is that college courses are just designed by some guy, the guy teaching them. Often that guy will teach a fairly standard intro that's accessible and interesting to everyone, but sometimes you will get some dickhead who wants to teach a certain niche that interests him, and fuck everybody else who took the course. It's not uncommon at all in college to take a course like "French History" and end up taking 12 lectures on inconsequential themes without getting any general, meaty sense of French history as a whole.

So make sure you pick a course that interests you, but also consider looking at the syllabus and course description beforehand to see what the ACTUAL course content will be. You can usually email the teacher and just ask for their syllabus or plans.

>> No.10430991

>>10430983
Also a tip: Try googling "[thing you're interested in] syllabus" and you'll find lots of different professors uploading their syllabi. That way you can get an impression of what the courses look like. You'll notice some are fucking terrible, some are way too theoretical, some are theoretical but ONLY focus on one kind of theory (postcolonial), some are reading-based but focus only on one set of readings you have no interest in.. All kinds of shit can happen. But you can also find really good ones.

>> No.10431263

bump for op

>> No.10431270

>>10430957
do you have lots and lots of cash you don’t care about or something anon?

>> No.10431290
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10431290

>>10430957
>i've never read a book in my life
>i do have an interest in books

>> No.10431298
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10431298

>>10431290
video game and internet addiction hasn't left me with much time to read books. i do like to read though, i just haven't been able to find the time to do it

>> No.10431410

>>10430957

From my experience, if you dont actualy do on your own what you supposedly like, then you dont like it at all. school wont change that fact. IMO your lit fascination is just that, groundless phantasy which will desintegrate the moment you'll have to do some actual work.

>> No.10432456
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10432456

>>10430957
>i've never read a book in my life
You were the guy in high school that just read the "Cliffs Notes" versions of assigned reading, right?

>> No.10432466

>>10431298
you're a fucking slave.

>> No.10433180

>>10430957
Hey man don't worry about all the hate your getting for not reading. This board simultaneously complains about reading not being cool and openly judges people who admit to not reading yet who want to begin so. I would totally encourage you to take the class. Reading could be a challenge in the academic setting but I think if you're interested in it this is a great opportunity that I wouldn't waste. If the biggest thing you have to worry about is reading in a timely fashion try talking to some people who have taken literature courses.