Introduction Post

Hi everyone! My name is Alison and I am a third year psychology student. This is my second semester at UBC as I was currently studying at the University of Calgary for the previous two years. I am not new to taking literature courses as I took GRSJ 224 last term, but am still fairly excited to learn about Latin literature. I was born in Argentina and have always been intrigued by the books my parents and grandparents would read, so I think this course will be a great opportunity to become better familiarized with such. The course content seems very interesting and I appreciate having some time within my semester to further my knowledge on the history and perspectives within Latin literature. In my free time (when I am not flooded with school work), I enjoy going to the mall, hanging out with friends, and going on very long walks on my own. 

In regards to what I expect of the readings that lie ahead; I believe they will be very different to the literature I have been exposed to in previous years. I really enjoy reading books, especially when they are written and based within the context of South America and the history of its countries. Moving to Canada at a young age has forced me to become separated from a lot of the culture and experiences that my other family members were exposed too, therefore reading books that hold perspectives similar to the ones I grew up around help me to connect my family's experience to the authors on a personal level of understanding. I am expecting to do much more reading within this semester, as this course, as well as a couple others I am taking seem to be very "readings" based. Regardless, I am curious to see the writing styles and techniques the authors with use within their stories, and to be able to further contrast them with the literature I am familiar with. I generally associate the thought of Latin literature to include some kind of romance component, so I am really hoping to be able to see that within this course and its readings.

I am looking forward to this course and appreciate the flexibility and freedom that is offered when going about deciding what stories to read, and the days to attend class. I think this really stood out to me when deciding what classes to take this semester, and makes it much easier for me to attend class while balancing my other heavier courses. I also really liked how we are able to choose which stories to read, as when I do not find a story interesting it makes it very hard to focus and understand the message the author is trying to convey.

My question for the class is: has a book ever created an eye-opening experience where you have even maybe changed your perspectives on a situation? And why was that?