What did you study in college?

[Guest 7034872]

How relevant is Sartre these days? Ever since reading "La Nausée" in French class, I've subscribed to his brand of Existentialism.

If you mean, "How popularly received is he?" I'll confess he's not en vogue these days, but there are those of us who still read and appreciate him.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I have a BA at a state school where I majored in history and minored in philosophy

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Undergrad: Trinity University (San Antonio)- Majored in Evonomics & Philosophy, with minors in Art/Art History, English, and Religion. Came up 3 classes short of earning 2 BAs…and I dropped 3 classes in my 4 years. The double BA would have been nice, but I dropped those classes for VERY good reasons and do not regret doing so.

Post-Grad: JD from UT Austin School of Law, MBA (Sports & Entertainment Marketing) from University of Dallas, certified in Mediation through UT Arlington.

…plus assorted other college-level classes I’ve taken just because. I think I took some kind of class every summer from 3rd grade until I graduated from law school. Some of that was to fill curriculum requirements, some for self-edification. And of course, I still have to take continuing education courses to maintain my license.

Forgot: there was a minor in English Literature as well.

That and the Art minor were arguably the most enjoyable classes I had. I mean, I spent most of my senior year working with pastels, acrylics, found objects, and unusual materials then eating burgers & fries at the campus grill. (Had a couple pieces up for inclusion in the school’s permanent collecti9n, but my experimental techniques were unstable, and they disintegrated.

But the English Lit classes were taught in a way that went beyond even my HS AP literature courses, and greatly expanded the way I read fiction.

Bonus: one course in particular- “Biblical Themes in Literature- cemented my über-nerd cred my freshman year. The course was about detecting and decoding the Biblical themes that western authors repeatedly used in their writing. One day, Dr. Hoffer read a few paragraphs from a work in which the author was implying that a particular character was evil by describing him in terms associated with notable infernal beings. He’d read a sentence, and ask which fiend was being alluded to. I- uncharacteristically- raised my hand and answered the first question correctly, all while looking down and scribbling notes. I did likewise with the second and third passages. By the time I did so for the 10th+ consecutive passage, he was calling me by name- I looked up and the entire class was staring at me.

Thanks, AD&D!

 

[BookTenTiger]

Forgot: there was a minor in English Literature as well.

That and the Art minor were arguably the most enjoyable classes I had. I mean, I spent most of my senior year working with pastels, acrylics, found objects, and unusual materials then eating burgers & fries at the campus grill. (Had a couple pieces up for inclusion in the school’s permanent collecti9n, but my experimental techniques were unstable, and they disintegrated.

But the English Lit classes were taught in a way that went beyond even my HS AP literature courses, and greatly expanded the way I read fiction.

Bonus: one course in particular- “Biblical Themes in Literature- cemented my über-nerd cred my freshman year. The course was about detecting and decoding the Biblical themes that western authors repeatedly used in their writing. One day, Dr. Hoffer read a few paragraphs from a work in which the author was implying that a particular character was evil by describing him in terms associated with notable infernal beings. He’d read a sentence, and ask which fiend was being alluded to. I- uncharacteristically- raised my hand and answered the first question correctly, all while looking down and scribbling notes. I did likewise with the second and third passages. By the time I did so for the 10th+ consecutive passage, he was calling me by name- I looked up and the entire class was staring at me.

Thanks, AD&D!

I loved, loved, loved the majority of my Literature classes! Some of the highlights:

Semiotics & Psychoanalysis literally changed the way I think about the world. I took it freshman year as my Lit 101 and from then on every single paper I wrote was a semiotic analysis. Anything can mean anything, man!

Soviet Literature introduced me to a lot of wonderful, creative writers. It was fun learning about the huge creative efforts that went into the creation of the Soviet Union. Then in our last class the professor outlined the fate of every single writer: mock trial and execution.

Magic in Post-Alexandrian Middle East was literally a class about magic during the time the bible was written. The class was held at 8:00 am and the professor took it very seriously. We read spells to summon bears, to trap demons... Cool stuff!

Muppets... Wasn't actually a literature class, but I did take a class on the history of the Muppets. I got to meet Gonzo.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I had a kind of meandering academic history; I have a BA in English and an AA in Library Science. But it is to be noted that I also have (and this wasn't really planned, it just worked out as easy to do because of the classes I'd wandered through) minors in Psychology, Anthropology and Communications.

 

[Smackpixi]

How relevant is Sartre these days? Ever since reading "La Nausée" in French class, I've subscribed to his brand of Existentialism.

i’m going to guess Sartre’s relevance tracks roughly equal with The Smiths as it has since the late 80s.

 

[freyar]

Undergrad: physics & math double major.
Grad school: physics (string theory)
8 years postdoc training: also particle physics and cosmology
I'm still doing all three physics subjects at different times, whenever I have enough time for research anyway (somebody mentioned it is grading season).

 

[trappedslider]

 

[LongTimeLurker]

Drinking and smoking cannabis.

 

[Tonguez]

Drinking and smoking cannabis.

One of my uni mates did a PHd in Zymology (Applied Chemistry) and ended up teaching a class in Beer brewing - of course much of the class consisted of tasting and comparing various ‘experiments’

Out of class one of his students would make his own Kahlua and Irish Cream - that was potent