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July 19, 2007
Side Effects of Being a Literature Major
Two months after graduation, I'm seeing the effects of having earned my degree in English literature. I don't mean student loans (although those are, indeed, present). These side effects are things I never anticipated. Outcomes I never foresaw. Goals I could've had...
It's weird to think that I'm not going to school in the fall, which is something that I've done for the past 17 years. Sure I plan to be enrolled in graduate school by fall of 2008, but until then I'm watching the reality and the effects of my schooling just pile up in front of me. (I'm trying to enjoy it since, if I get my way, I'll be in school till I retire. I hope to go to grad school to become an English professor, so school would become my life, I guess.) Instead of letting them become a heap of sawdust, this is my attempt to make somewhat of a semblance of what's been laid before me...
So what are these effects I'm talking about? Well, first of all, I'm feeling anxious to read more. I feel like I ought to write about the things I'm reading just because that's what I've done forever... and because I happen to like it. (Not sure where this will lead. Maybe I'll revise a paper and submit it for publication? Who knows.)
Amazon has been sending me updates about new Chaucer anthologies. New low prices on Shakespeare plays, poetry collections, and life speculations. Recommendations for writings by Camus, Dostoyevsky, Rushdie, Joyce, and Proulx. Alerts on new releases for books on elements of poetry, fiction, and essays. Worse, though, I've been tempted to buy some (even though I really don't need them and could just reread the ones I already bought, which is why Amazon is making all these wild suggestions for me).
I get really excited when someone is reading a book I've read. Now I am not as widely read as I hope to be someday, but I also realize that choosing to read a book needs to be a careful decision since there is no way to read every last "good" book ever written... But I suddenly feel the urge to discuss parts of the book in-depth, and I begin rooting around in my memory for literary terms and criticisms to apply, thinking about papers I wrote or papers I wish I wrote (I have a whole Word document of ideas I never wrote about throughout college). Being a lit. major was usually about moving away from those rigid definition-based ways of thinking about a text, but it's not a bad springboard. And I find myself playing around on that springboard like it's a trampoline...
I've opened up files of old papers just to read them. I've edited them and re-saved them as a separate version.
I've continued my craze for finding errors and have actually acted on it. I emailed a certain camera company about a grammatical error on a page for a product in the online store. I emailed a certain lender with whom I have a student loan about a misspelling on the online payment site. I emailed the webmaster for a graphic design firm after one of the employees left a comment on my blog--I visited their site and found one of those errors that if one reads it out loud, it becomes 100% evident that it's incorrect grammar. Surprisingly most folks have been receptive to me pointing out these things. (See, Dr. Jerz? I don't leave public comments anymore... I discreetly mention the errors in emails. ;)
I'm sure I could come up with more. For now, though, these side effects are the most current. Don't get me wrong--I loved being an English literature major. I'm looking forward to where it'll take me in the future (that might be due to the fact that most people cooly ask, "And what are you going to do with that?" when one says one is in this field of study...). Yeah, that's right--I have a degree in literature and while, at this moment, I might not be using it directly, I know that I'm going somewhere with it. Ha. Take that, world.
Posted by KarissaKilgore at July 19, 2007 8:25 PM
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Comments
Way to go, Karissa: you've been Englishified through and through! Here's a tip: if you want to get a jump on grad school, you might focus your "down time" reading on getting a jump ahead on things. Do google searches to try to root out the sort of books that you'll be tested on in grad school. Use a keyphrase like "English grad student comprehensive exam reading list" or something. Not every school posts their required lists online, but some do, and others break down "concentration areas" that are important to the program. Look for areas you haven't read much in the field yet (say, Restoration lit, maybe? Cultural Studies criticism? etc.) and see if any titles appeal to you.
I'm not saying this to diminish your achievements, but I think most people get this feeling when they go to grad school: when I got my BA, I thought I knew it all; then I got to grad school and realized how little I really knew! The field is HUMONGOUS! And humongously satisfying. Go for it!
Keep bloggin. -- Dr. A.
Posted by: Mike Arnzen at July 19, 2007 10:52 PM
Haha, thanks for those awesome tips, Dr. A. Nice to know you're still reading. And trust me--I definitely don't think that I know it all. I may come off as confident but I doubt myself all of the time... that's probably a built-in safety for me or something. I guess the confidence is from the feeling that my decisions will eventually take me to where I want to go and that I won't end up being one of those English majors who works in a department store for ten years. Call it blind optimism...
I know for as much as I end up studying and as much as I might feel "satisfied" with my knowledge as I root through it, there's some part of everyone that should never really be sated. Could that be considered "the inner drool" for knowledge? Haha... inner drool...
Posted by: Karissa at July 19, 2007 11:15 PM
"The Inner Drool"! lol! That ought to be the title of a book!
Your confidence is a STRENGTH of yours! I didn't mean to imply anything about you being too optimistic; just wanted to suggest that you overtly spin your desire for reading like a lit major into your future grad school plans (it'll make the comp exams that much easier to prep for). A bachelor's degree in lit is really a sign that you do 'know a lot' (let's call it that instead of 'know it all') about the general breadth of the field; grad school is usually where you get to thicken your knowledge about the breadth and really take a subject or three in deep, deep depth. And it's wonderful. And you're going to not only succeed, but love it.
Posted by: Mike Arnzen at July 20, 2007 11:20 AM
You used the phrase, "Don't get my wrong" in your blog post. Did you mean, "Don't get me wrong"?
Posted by: Ju at July 23, 2007 11:31 PM
Karissa,
My Aunt Nan (74-years-old, sharp as a tack) corrected my grammar three times on Sunday and then asked, "Are you positive English is what you'd like to teach?" I told her not to be so cocky and that she had misused a collective pronoun earlier. As that kept her mind occupied, I began to wonder how you were. I was very happy to read your reply to my blog entry about my new job. Thank you for the kind words. I think you are having a very standard reaction to post-graduation uncertainty. I am sure you will find a higher ground in the literary landscape. Try to enjoy the climb.
Incidentally, read, "The Road," by Cormac McCarthy. It is tremendous.
Posted by: Dave Moio at July 24, 2007 12:29 AM
Would that Ju were as sensitive as you have grown, Karissa! ;)
Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz 
at July 24, 2007 1:06 AM
Har har, Dr. Jerz. Thanks. And Ju, thank you for catching that. Typos happen sometimes and, while I tend to be overly concerned about them, I admit that when I get into a flurry of typing (like when I'm excited about a topic or can't get my hands to go as fast as my mind goes) that my accuracy drops a bit.
Dave, the story about your aunt is great. Remind her that while grammar is important to the language as a whole, there are more lucrative opportunities in teaching English holistically rather than in puzzle pieces. And thanks for the recommendation--I loved McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses" so I'll have to check that out.
Posted by: Karissa at July 24, 2007 7:57 AM
ahhhhhhh, this was/is so me. i've found freelance writing helps with that urge to essay.
i'm hoping for Fall of '08 grad program, but everyone is so discouraging. no tenure, low pay, etc., etc. well, it does stink, but i can't see myself being happy doing anything else.
so good luck to you!
Posted by: eliza at August 21, 2007 3:42 PM