It occurs to me now that I am going to have to propose a BA thesis in English by the end of this year.
Yeah, yeah, I could not write a BA thesis, but I couldn't possibly accept my degree with a straight face on account of just the 9 or 10 English classes I've taken. Especially when some of them weren't really English classes at all, like Gender Studies, no offense to people of gender.
The larger problem is that, by and by, I have never honed in on one special field of English literature. Forget ambitions to write the B.A. that solves the problem of where English goes next; I'm just trying to solve the problem of whether I should write on long-dead guys or recently-dead guys in either Britain or America.
For a quarter last year I thought that I'd concentrate in early modern literature like the Renaissance poets and, well yeah, mother-fuckin' Shakespeare. That was before I took the class on Renaissance poetry and realized that I couldn't enjoy anything without an Oxford-English Dictionary and a King James bible next to me as reference. I'm sure I would love all those elegant tropes and extended metaphors if, yes, I understood the 1618 Corn Law and the significance of the color blue in the Book of Leviticus. For now, however, I'm content with watching Shakespeare in Love and calling it a day.
Maybe this decision is easier for majors who just take a bunch of classes in the topic they like, as in 20th Century Post-War Genre Literature or Marx & The Victorian Novel. But the classes I've taken are INTRODUCTION TO FICTION, INTRODUCTION TO POETRY, SHAKESPEARE, ENGLISH 101, and HISTORY & THEORY OF DRAMA-- y'know, introductory classes. I thought that's what one did in a discipline; they first took general classes to learn the methods, tools, and criticism of the discipline. Now that I've taken those I'm ready to jump into a concentration--but wait! I've already fulfilled 95% of the major requirements, the last two being a mere drama course and an American Lit course of any kind. Essentially I'm already done. Sure, I could take lots more courses before I write the B.A. But the point is that this department assumes that after these courses, I am qualified for a B.A. degree in English. And these are standards? Shouldn't we all be forced to take these introductory courses before we're unleashed into an academically challenging class like Post-Structuralism and the Graphic Novel, 1968--1983?
Ultimately, I'll probably go the route of the cop-out and write the "Creative B.A." and be not subject to any sort of quality control at all, so I can go study instead for my examination before the Fundamentals tribunal. (Don't even get me started on that.)
ALSO: It took until 2:30 in the morning, but the 20TH GENERATION OF OFF-OFF CAMPUS has been cast!
Yeah, yeah, I could not write a BA thesis, but I couldn't possibly accept my degree with a straight face on account of just the 9 or 10 English classes I've taken. Especially when some of them weren't really English classes at all, like Gender Studies, no offense to people of gender.
The larger problem is that, by and by, I have never honed in on one special field of English literature. Forget ambitions to write the B.A. that solves the problem of where English goes next; I'm just trying to solve the problem of whether I should write on long-dead guys or recently-dead guys in either Britain or America.
For a quarter last year I thought that I'd concentrate in early modern literature like the Renaissance poets and, well yeah, mother-fuckin' Shakespeare. That was before I took the class on Renaissance poetry and realized that I couldn't enjoy anything without an Oxford-English Dictionary and a King James bible next to me as reference. I'm sure I would love all those elegant tropes and extended metaphors if, yes, I understood the 1618 Corn Law and the significance of the color blue in the Book of Leviticus. For now, however, I'm content with watching Shakespeare in Love and calling it a day.
Maybe this decision is easier for majors who just take a bunch of classes in the topic they like, as in 20th Century Post-War Genre Literature or Marx & The Victorian Novel. But the classes I've taken are INTRODUCTION TO FICTION, INTRODUCTION TO POETRY, SHAKESPEARE, ENGLISH 101, and HISTORY & THEORY OF DRAMA-- y'know, introductory classes. I thought that's what one did in a discipline; they first took general classes to learn the methods, tools, and criticism of the discipline. Now that I've taken those I'm ready to jump into a concentration--but wait! I've already fulfilled 95% of the major requirements, the last two being a mere drama course and an American Lit course of any kind. Essentially I'm already done. Sure, I could take lots more courses before I write the B.A. But the point is that this department assumes that after these courses, I am qualified for a B.A. degree in English. And these are standards? Shouldn't we all be forced to take these introductory courses before we're unleashed into an academically challenging class like Post-Structuralism and the Graphic Novel, 1968--1983?
Ultimately, I'll probably go the route of the cop-out and write the "Creative B.A." and be not subject to any sort of quality control at all, so I can go study instead for my examination before the Fundamentals tribunal. (Don't even get me started on that.)
ALSO: It took until 2:30 in the morning, but the 20TH GENERATION OF OFF-OFF CAMPUS has been cast!
9 Comments:
Hah, I say go for the creative cop-out. Maybe even write about the stupidity of BA theses so that your review board can sit back, puff on their pipes and say, "How very meta."
And while I'm no stranger to the burden of too many intro classes, I'm sorry, but you can't feign innocence here. No one selected the English major for you. You knew the risks when you signed up. Buy the ticket, take the ride.
Ugh, Shakespeare in Love. What a crap movie.
Creative Cop-Out!?? Listen, motherfather, some of us WANT to write creative B.A.'s! Who ever said that doing something you really care about and are willing to put way more sweat and blood into than some critical thesis in a micro-genre of literature was a cop-out? I hate you. But seriously, you are ridiculous for worrying about this so early. You don't have to submit the proposal until late Spring, and the idea to take a few more specialized English classes isn't a bad one to help you figure shit out. Basically, stop sweatin' it, man. But yeah, if all else fails, here's something that should be right up your alley (I thought of it recently as I was revising my own proposal): write a creative B.A. in which the entire paper is one long B.A. proposal! Let's face it, the teasers often promise more and inspire greater emotion than the real thing (i.e. Garden State and its trailer), so why don't you just go all the way and forego the possibility of the "actual" B.A. Genius!
I have taken several extremely specialized classes in my major. Now I am a veritable expert on--get this--American popular attitudes towards ADHD, circa 1950-1980. God knows I will go far with such wisdom. Also, I know the history of Skokie, Illinois, circa 1800-1920, and the history of Beloit College. On the other hand, I have no idea what Early Modern Europe even refers to, I know nothing about Rome or the Middle Ages, and France is a mystery of smelly cheese. Yeah, specialization!
The more you learn about France, the more you realize that you didn't need to know anything beyond smelly cheese and unshaved armpits.
A CRAP MOVIE? Kristen, this puts things between us in a tenuous position.
Drew,
I have returned to your blog and I have a comment. That comment is:
You + Billy Veeder + Bunnicula=
BA Thesis
Regards,
Caitlin
This is ridiculous. Institute word verification immediately!
There's a Chicago team in the World Series and you haven't even mentioned it yet?!?!?
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