What did you study in college?

[trappedslider]

BA in classics, MA in archaeology. Currently a professional archaeologist in the private sector for 17 years now.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I'm a four-year history student, so I can say that I'm almost ( I hope I won't fail exams ) a Bachelor's in History
But I also have a literature course, and I love it. And before taking it, I had no idea that I could love literature.
And it's cool that you had Soviet Literature; it sounds very interesting. I don't have it in my educational program

I loved, loved, loved studying Literature. When I got my Multiple Subject Teaching Credential (elementary school teaching), I got a call that I was also qualified to teach "Literature" because of my BA. There aren't really opportunities to do so in my field, but I have a dream of one day living internationally and giving lectures on American Literature. If I can ever convince my wife to work for the WHO, we could live on the coast of Lake Geneva, take the train to the city, and give lectures.

 

[Blue Orange]

Probably a lot of overlap between DMing and literature--you're telling a story in both cases.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Probably a lot of overlap between DMing and literature--you're telling a story in both cases.

I agree, though I think a lot of it has to do with purposeful communication. When I read a book, I like to think about what the author is trying to communicate- not just the plot, but with word choice, format, the length of chapters, grammar, punctuation, etc. A lot of running an RPG is intentional communication: how can I get the players to interact in a way that would be most fun, or intense, or humorous, etc?

One piece of advice I read about writing short stories was "start as close to the ending as possible." I think about that a lot with adventure and campaign design. If the goal of this adventure is to get the magic sword, I should start with designing the encounter in which the characters get the magic sword, not with the nearby town. If my campaign is built around freeing the kingdom from the dragon tyrant, I should start by brainstorming different ways the dragon could be defeated, then lay down seeds and adventure paths that could lead to that ending.

I still think Literature is a pretty frivolous area of study, but I do love it!

 

[Blue Orange]

I still think Literature is a pretty frivolous area of study, but I do love it!

Less frivolous than you think. The stories people tell affect all kinds of other things and leave subconscious impressions (this is at the heart of many of the arguments about representation, for example), and usually show a culture's values. It could be, though, that literature is less important than movies these days. Of course, successful books get turned into movies quite often--books don't have to worry about a special effects budget. And while I wouldn't consider Twitter or blogs literature, they do fall under the heading of 'printed word', and are also quite influential.

I think 'high literature' (Booker Prize, etc.) isn't as culturally influential as it used to be, but even (perhaps especially) things that aren't considered 'respectable' often have huge influences-- Fifty Shades of Grey, for example, probably had more effect on people's sex lives than any approved manual (and I'm sure led to lots of injuries and even a few deaths). Nobody remembers Peyton Place, but it kicked off the whole 'dark side of suburbia' trope that would persist for decades later.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I think 'high literature' (Booker Prize, etc.) isn't as culturally influential as it used to be, but even (perhaps especially) things that aren't considered 'respectable' often have huge influences-- Fifty Shades of Grey, for example, probably had more effect on people's sex lives than any approved manual (and I'm sure led to lots of injuries and even a few deaths). Nobody remembers Peyton Place, but it kicked off the whole 'dark side of suburbia' trope that would persist for decades later.

Just look at genre fiction. Sci-fi, fantasy, and horror works cast long shadows in culture.

Much like fables and parables, many transmit life lessons in forms people are receptive to. How many people out there know Stan Lee’s “With great power comes great responsibility.” as an ethical statement?

Star Trek, Farrenheit 451, 1984, and The Handmaid’sTale all warn us of a variety of human failings.

I can’t tell you how many variations on memes comparing people’s actions during the pandemic to those who hide zombie bites.

And I can count on the fingers on my hands the number of courses I’ve seen where such fiction gets taken seriously. Chop off a hand and that would be the number of literary reviews that were likewise.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Man, tell me about it. My wife thinks I should read more edifying literature. On her recommendation I read Booker Prize winner The God of Small Things. It was so dull. I don't need to read about dysfunctional families, I grew up in one. Also, please give me a protagonist who protags, not someone who just sits there and sighs.

Give me a re-read of The Lord of the Rings any day. Or if I really want to get away from sighing protagonists (soz, Frodo my boy, but you do spend a lot of time sighing) I can read some bloody Conan.

 

[Evaniel]

I shuffled around my undergrad majors and minors quite a lot. After getting a double major in English and history, I came back for a teaching certificate. During that time I think I was...2 credits shy of a philosophy minor, two classes shy of a political science major, and two classes shy of a French minor.

I got my MA in English studies pedagogy and PhD in rhetoric and writing studies. I just got promoted to Full this summer. I publish mostly on writing centers, but occasionally I sneak out a pub in comics studies or game studies.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I shuffled around my undergrad majors and minors quite a lot. After getting a double major in English and history, I came back for a teaching certificate. During that time I think I was...2 credits shy of a philosophy minor, two classes shy of a political science major, and two classes shy of a French minor.

This, by the way, is part of how I ended up with four minors in addition to my major; I had spent a lot of time digging my way out of a really awful first year of college in terms of having a functional GPA, and as a consequence I took a lot of random electives I wouldn't have had I been doing a beeline toward my degree.

 

[Evaniel]

I feel like students often try (for good reason) to pursue their first major to the exclusion of all else. I think GenEd/Liberal Arts programs are invaluable for exposing folks to stuff they weren't even aware of. I have to argue this with members of my family. A lot.

(Edit, I'm trying to reply to Thomas Shey, but failing at the quote system, lol.)