What the fuck did I get myself into?

[Anonymous No.19979690]

So I started my literature course today and idk what the fuck to do
>Classes are so basic i'm learning nothing
>My class on classics is just books i've already read
>The lecturers just talk themselves in circles since the subject is so basic and they seem to talk at .5 speed so that they can stretch a 20mins lessons plan into 1.5 hours
>Every class starts by having us "group up" and share an interesting fact about ourselves and suggest a netflix show
>I figured this was just a first week thing to help out spergs so I let it slide
>Today I said that I'd rather just work alone
>Lecturer says "But anon, how are you meant to make any friends?"
>I tell them that I already have enough friends and that I don't want to make more, I'm at capacity
>Lecturer says "Oh, Mr. Popular huh? Well how about you group up, you could always use more friends"
>Say no thank you and that I just want to focus on the course
>"Anon, college is about who you know not the subject matter"
>Ask if it there's a chance that it could be switched around at all or if they know of any classes where that isn't the case
>They say that i'm being difficult and making their job harder
>Say that their job doesn't seem that hard at all so that doesn't really seem that bad
>"Look, you have to do group work, it's part of the course!"
>Get grouped with a guy who's fun fact is that he likes to lift weights in his spare time, and two girls who suggest The Office as their netflix show and then talk about The Office for the rest of the class
>Ten minutes before class ends the teacher tells us that we have to write 200 words on a Carver short story about who we think the protagonist might be
>Everyone seems really happy with this arrangement
>I am absolutely livid

What the fuck is this shit? Why do they want everyone to be friends? I seriously don't understand, I just want to read, write, and then be left the fuck alone. I'm honestly thinking of standing my ground next time and just refusing to "group up" or whatever the fuck. Is anyone else in this hellhole?

[Anonymous No.19979699]

>not realising that higher education is more about networking rather than actual learning

t. too intellegent for uni

[Anonymous No.19979702]

>>19979690
You’re paying to network and to meet people who will potentially make you a better writer with their own networks and ideas. If you’re too good for the plebs, just hold out until grad school.

[Anonymous No.19979708]

>>19979690
I'm a literature major in an Eastern European country and it's basically the same thing. When the first semester started I was scared shitless that I might come off as an uncultured idiot and fail all my classes, but when push came to shove I passed everything with minimal effort

[Anonymous No.19979715]

>>19979699
What the fuck does networking mean in this context? I already know enough people.
>>19979702
It's not that i'm "too good" i'm just too tired and at capacity socially.
>>19979708
I mean, I guess it's kind of comforting knowing that passing isn't an issue, but not a huge one

[Anonymous No.19979746]

>>19979690
>>19979708
Wait a fucking second, you're telling me that the story in OP isn't made up or at least implausibly embellished? Is this really how it is in academia today?

[Anonymous No.19979757]

>>19979746
for non-STEM subjects networking is pretty much all that's left. But even for STEM subjects everything's shifting towards more and more group work.
source: studying computer science and taking some courses in linguistics

[Anonymous No.19979760]

I assume higher education now, at least with the useless degrees, is just a form of extended daycare for adult children.

[Anonymous No.19979763]

>>19979715
The point is that jobs in publishing are gonna hard to come by, becoming a publisher author is going to be even more difficult. Now is your chance to make friends that could potentially provide you an in later on. Let’s say you’ve written a novel and you happen to have a friend who works at Penguin etc. In other words, don’t be such a sperg now and you might benefit from it later.

[Anonymous No.19979764]

>>19979699
>>19979763
literally this man

[Anonymous No.19979769]

>(((((friends)))))

[Anonymous No.19979775]

>>19979746
I'm not embellishing shit.

[Anonymous No.19979784]

>>19979746
Literary scholarship is a complete meme. My uni experience has been all about making friends and having a good time. The professors have no grading standards whatsoever, everyone gets As.

[Anonymous No.19979786]

>>19979763
So essentially, make friends with as many of my classmates as possible, on the off chance that they work for Penguin some day? That sounds hellish.

I guess i'm just bothered by how happy everyone else seems to be with this arrangement.

[Anonymous No.19979790]

>>19979784
So if I already have enough friends then there's no point?

[Anonymous No.19979793]

>>19979786
write a novella about it

[Anonymous No.19979796]

>>19979790
are they friends or (((((friends))))) though?

[Anonymous No.19979798]

>>19979786
You never know. Besides, it’s not who you know, it’s who you blow. So you’d better start training that gag reflex, anon.

[Anonymous No.19979809]

>>19979690
>fulfills GE requirements
This is the level they have to do it at so people that likely don't have the aptitude to engage with texts beyond "ME LIKE ME CONSUME" Netflix -- like STEM majors -- don't pullout entirely and cost the Uni money, especially for exchange one and the extra premium. Meet with whomever in the department and seek clearance for taking higher level courses.

[Anonymous No.19979812]

Question their ways at every opportunity, challenge their approach to education with your superior intellect and demand change. Make each lecture about how group work is the least efficient method of learning and you didn't pay money just to make friends and listen to slow lectures. If they don't comply with everything, accuse them of poor quality of teaching and say you'll report them to the board to piss them off.

[Anonymous No.19979854]

I actually feel kind of bad for people who have this romanticised image of academia in their heads and expect it to be a meeting of the minds of geniuses. It was always about nepotistic networking and also partying/getting laid.

When you realise that universities now fulfil the role that churches did in pre-Enlightenment times (i.e pushing propaganda onto the masses), it’s easy to grow jaded at the whole education system.

[Anonymous No.19979869]

>>19979796
As in have connections? Well, yeah. They're all established artists and i've been published a few times. If you mean a bigwig at a publishing company, then no. I think i'd rather die than ingratiate myself to someone I don't enjoy spending time if i'm being honest.
>>19979793
More into poetry, i'll write a prose poem since that seems to be the literary form that pisses the most people off.

[Anonymous No.19979870]

>>19979769
This. The very concept of friends is a psy op, unironically

[Anonymous No.19979871]

>>19979798
I think i'd rather die in obscurity, since that what most of my favourite artists did.

[Anonymous No.19979874]

>>19979854
There is indeed a genuine period to be romanticized but it's generally right after something's inception. e.g. the very foundational period of Christianity probably had genuinely saintly people involved, like Buddhism had true ascetics who most likely had a shot at true enlightenment, and so on until in the Enlightenment we had a period where genuinely astounding minds were doing great work. Immediately after that honeymoon period things inevitably go to shit and how far deep they go to shit is usually directly proportional to how much was done during that first phase.

[Anonymous No.19979877]

>>19979809
Goddamn that's actually genuinely helpful. Maybe I can just burn through all the bullshit and be like "look i'll just hand in all the coursework early so I can start on the challenging stuff"

Actually, who am I kidding? That would mean losing thousands of dollars in fees so why would they clear that?

[Anonymous No.19979883]

>>19979812
Can I just skip all the petty shit and complain to the board? Wait. I think my optimism is dying out as this thread progresses.

[Anonymous No.19979892]

>>19979883
There's no board that would take your complaint seriously, the most you can do is waste the time and mental energy of those you despise

[Anonymous No.19979901]

>>19979892
I know. I realised that as I was responding. I really don't have the energy to antagonise them verbally, so I think I might just throw paper airplanes across the room or something.

[Anonymous No.19979907]

>>19979690
You go to a shitty university. The end.

[Anonymous No.19979912]

You're telling me that gen ed English classes are easy?

[Anonymous No.19979951]

My nursing classmates hate me after speculating that their soon to be profession is a social, capitalistic construct

[Anonymous No.19979957]

>>19979951
>My nursing classmates hate me
I thought they'd love you for being a homosexual. Basic farm girls and Asians always want a flaming bff.

[Anonymous No.19979965]

>>19979951
>Trying to act smart
>In nursing rather than medical school

Anon…

[Anonymous No.19979972]

>>19979907
It's actually quite "prestigious" depressingly.
>>19979912
Well my gf is in her last year and she's doing a mandatory grammar class, so it doesn't seem like it gets that much better

[Anonymous No.19979984]

>>19979690
That only a couple have questioned the status and quality of your university is sadly telling about the state of /lit/s institutional educational opportunities. (In short, y'all must've gone to awful schools for OPs description of his course, first year or otherwise, rings true.)

[Anonymous No.19979989]

>>19979984
I went to an ivy league college and this is pretty much it. Are you like 35 or something?

[Anonymous No.19980001]

>>19979972
>Well my gf is in her last year and she's doing a mandatory grammar class

If she is ESL like you it might help desu

[Anonymous No.19980010]

>>19980001
Oh no, i've mentioned my gf and now i've lost the sympathy of the incels.

[Anonymous No.19980029]

>>19979690
Ummm... Anon, quick question:
If this is true
>So I started my literature course TODAY
Why does this read as if it takes places over weeks?
>The lecturers just talk themselves in circles since the subject is so basic and they seem to talk at .5 speed so that they can stretch a 20mins lessons plan into 1.5 hours
>Every class starts by having us "group up" and share an interesting fact about ourselves and suggest a netflix show
>I figured this was just a first week thing to help out spergs so I let it slide
>Today I said that I'd rather just work alone

[Anonymous No.19980041]

>>19980029
Lol yeah OP help us out, what semester starts in late February?

[Anonymous No.19980048]

>>19980029
>>19980041
I started on the 20th. This was my first tutorial, so I let the rest slide since I figured it was structured that way since it's the first week. But I asked around and it's just like this.

[Anonymous No.19980052]

>>19980048
Your writing comes off as disorganised and confused for such an innate literary genius.

[Anonymous No.19980053]

>>19979957
>>19979951
I want to be a psychiatric nurse but the training to get there is brain dead.

[Anonymous No.19980058]

>>19980048
Anon, are we supposed to.believe that every teacher across every department asks you to suggest a Netflix show every class?

[Anonymous No.19980062]

>>19980052
I'm not an inate literary genius, but I admit I haven't slept well the last two days and now i'm two valiums deep after refilling my script today. I'm annoyed at how much time is allocated towards socialising as opposed to the subject were meant ti be learning about, that's all.

[Anonymous No.19980063]

>>19979951
>says pessimist pseud shit
>wtf why do people hate me!

[Anonymous No.19980067]

>>19980063
>speculate on the nature of reality
>wtf my midwit brain cant take it!!

[Anonymous No.19980071]

>>19979690
Life is a popularity contest the sooner you understand this the better. Thinking your skills or knowledge means anything is just cope and I hope you wake up for real life soon anon

[Anonymous No.19980073]

>>19980058
If you want me to get into specifics here are the prompts I can remember

>Tell your group one boring fact and your favourite tv show
>Tell your group a unique fact about your family and what your favourite animals is
>Tell the group your favourite way to spend your free time and your astrological sign
>Tell the group your favourite article of clothing and why

This is from literary classics, creative writing, and modernism.

The only class I like is this philosophy of aesthetics class I took. The lecturer gets there and says "Alright, let's jump right in"

[Anonymous No.19980075]

>>19979690
What country are you in? Clearly not the US if you're writing this at 5:50 eastern as if it all happened today. You also sound a bit like an in-over-his-head egomaniac eurofag; so is this how the do things in Polish universities right now?

[Anonymous No.19980079]

>>19980071
I'm already popular. I really meant it when I said that i'm at capacity with friends. I just don't have the time to have more, and even if I did, I wouldn't because I don't like being coerced into it. They're raping me with group work.

[Anonymous No.19980087]

>>19980075
US. I'm an insomniac, so I only sleep a few hours at a time.

[Anonymous No.19980107]

>>19980067
>we live in a capitalism!
>not the epitome of midwit thinking

[Anonymous No.19980198]

>>19980107
>we live in reality! Everything is how nature intended for us to be! The world that we percieve isn't fabricated based on a socioeconomic framework! My thoughts and feelings are my own, and are as real and true as my own individuality!
>not a scholar of midwitery at all

[Anonymous No.19980205]

>>19979690
Alright, I'm not reading any of that stupid shit zoomer.

[Anonymous No.19980230]

>>19980198
>getting this worked up over relating some minute aspect of reality to capitalism isnt some highwit shit

Its ok bro

[Anonymous No.19980231]

>>19980079
I've never heard of anyone truly popular describe their social situation as at capacity. It costs fucking nothing to be amicable to retards and build shallow working relationships with what are essentially your coworkers. Do you have aspergers?

[Anonymous No.19980237]

This was very funny and I do sympathise with you, but your teacher basically told you the big secret. University really is about who you know. You need contacts. It's not so much about the work, you can get by easily enough, whatever. What matters is getting to know those people who get you that cushy job at the end of the course.

[Anonymous No.19980240]

Take the opportunity to bounce ideas and critique with people. Even if they don't really add any value, it'll still good practice.

[Anonymous No.19980261]

>>19980198
why do you want to be a nurse psych if you think this?.

[Anonymous No.19980263]

>>19980231
>It costs fucking nothing to be amicable to retards and build shallow working relationships
you are the problem of this world.

[Anonymous No.19980289]

>>19980230
Look, anytime you have free market enterprise of capitalism you are going to have an ideology that focuses on the promotion of meritocracy and individuality. This is because the people that gain the most affluence/power/wealth/prestige do it on the backs of labor that they basically exploit. These power elite then enter into what C.W. Mills calls the military industrial complex. Which means today that big business, big government, and big military are all in collaboration with each other to continue this tradition. Dwight D Eisenhower (republican president) warned about this. Not to sound Marxist here (because for some reason in the U.S. the promotion of equality for looked down upon, thus proving my point), but seriously when you have this why would you want to promote a science that calls out the dysfunctions of society? Why would you want to promote a science the monitors and calls to attentions inequality? Why would you want to promote a science that teaches people that we are all influenced by social and biophysical experiences? In a society that wants to promote free market capitalism you wouldn't want that science to be prominent, and this is why we are in the state we are in now. Again, sorry for the rant.

[Anonymous No.19980293]

>>19980263
Because I am capable of connecting with strangers without running a calculus of my friendship reserves? You're just a sperg displaying typical sperg behavior.

[Anonymous No.19980294]

>>19980231
>It costs fucking nothing to be amicable to retards and build shallow working relationships
Speak for yourself that shit makes me want to kms

[Anonymous No.19980303]

You're not supposed to go to college for something you are passionate about, you go to get credentials to earn money. Change your major to STEM and pursue literature in your free time.

[Anonymous No.19980316]

>>19979690

This is just how university works in America, and increasingly in Europe.A loss of standards was inevitable with affirmative action and the inclusion of women. When I took ancient Greek in college a girl starting crying and ran out of class when she got a C on a weekly quiz. Then I chased after her an came in her pussy to make her feel better

[Anonymous No.19980317]

>>19980293
>shallow working relationghips
still you think you dont have a calculus there?. i repeat, you are the problem of this world because your hipocrisy and shallowness. basically. also, im not OP.

[Anonymous No.19980327]

Realer shit is going on, baby,
take a look around

[Anonymous No.19980358]

Is this an introductory level course?
Something to think about is that university needs to help people who failed high school get started.

[Anonymous No.19980375]

>>19980087
Lmao what college. Guarantee you are ar some associate's degree shit hole like Chatt State or some fucking tiny ass university with less than 1000 students.

[Anonymous No.19980381]

>>19980231
>It costs fucking nothing to be amicable to retards and build shallow working relationships

Wrong retard. It costs time and energy which could be spent with people I actually like being around. It has also resulted in six different stalkers. Fucking kill yourself.

[Anonymous No.19980385]

>>19980087
>US college
>Classes started on February 20th (this is the spring semester ie the second half of the academic year)
B U L L S H I T

[Anonymous No.19980392]

>>19980293
That wasn't even me, but god you're insufferable. Most of my day is sending messages saying "Sorry, I can't today, I have plans" Why would I want to add to that anxiety? If i'm at uni then I want to be left the fuck alone so I can read between classes.
>>19980237
I guess i'm the retard for thinking that I would be able to learn more about literature. Ig i'll just bare it until I can go on to do my masters.
>>19980303
I already make enough money, I think i'll just stick it out and hope it gets better towards the tailend.

[Anonymous No.19980397]

>>19980289
do you prefer a "sceincie" based in equality instead?. you will see the same amount of shit and lies in the name of science. social science and psychology is an error since the beginining. is coercitive and manipulative in itself.

[Anonymous No.19980398]

>>19980375
No it's 10k+. I'm not posting my college.

[Anonymous No.19980404]

>>19980327
Like what?
>>19980240
That actually does make me feel a little better about it. Thank you.
>>19980385
Okay.

[Anonymous No.19980423]

>>19980404
Like everything

[Anonymous No.19980435]

>>19980423
Oh, everything. I don't particularly care about that.

[Anonymous No.19980444]

>>19980435
Yeah, thought so. Only unimportant people care about unimportant things like a literature course.

[Anonymous No.19980446]

>>19979746
I'd like to know where OP is going to University. I went to a UK Russel group and did English and it wasn't at all like what OP is describing.

I suspect if you go to pleb institutions you get pleb teaching.

[Anonymous No.19980474]

>>19980404
>Okay
Is that your defence? It sad how bad your larp is. You know so little about US colleges that you actually think it is believable the spring semester started in late February. You're just seething about not having gone to college and your ignorance of the most basic logistics of a US college is showing.
Name the college. It doesn't dox you. Grow up.

[Anonymous No.19980487]

>>19979690
What a fucking nightmare.

[Anonymous No.19980490]

>>19980289
Any functional system functions on meritocracy, one of the complaints about capitialism now is that its not based on true merit. Theres also a sort of paradox with that sort of science is that its only relavant as things are now but if some sort of functional society is formed it basically becomes a redundant

[Anonymous No.19980492]

>>19980444
Okay.
>>19980446
What was it like?
>>19980474
Okay.

[Anonymous No.19980495]

>>19980492
I am floored by your conversational skills.

[Anonymous No.19980516]

>>19980474

Not him, but going to a state uni this is how bad and cringe English and humanities classes are generally treated. The same is true at most elite colleges too. Any major that is disproportionately women will cater to feminine tastes and behavior

[Anonymous No.19980519]

>>19980495
Well I'm not here to make friends.