My Concluding Farewell to RMST 202!

My last week of RMST 202 had a dampener put it on it by the common issue that everyone seems to have right now – COVID. I was actually quite excited for the final week, to look back at how far I had come and how many new books I had read. Instead, I was stuck in my room trying to not to fall asleep in bed while I gallantly tried to finish ‘The Society of Reluctant Dreamers’. I got there in the end, but certainly without the grandiose flourish that I had expected of myself. Now, throat lozenge in hand, I am going to attempt to conclude my time in this class.

While watching/reading the final lecture, one thing that stood out to me was the idea that; “There is something slippery and excessive about all the texts that we have read.”. I would certainly have to agree with this statement. While, sure, the texts we have read can be given a time, place, movement and (sometimes) genre, I felt I could never quite fully summarise the texts we have read. There was also something that I had read that I couldn’t quite communicate, or as soon as I thought I had understood a text I would read someone’s blog post or discuss the book in class and realise that there was a whole other concept that the book had brought forward. Something that I had never even thought of.

This was not the only way I was challenged. I myself am a pretty big reader. However, I honestly would have to say I am a fairly conventional reader. I like to stick with my easy plots, clear timelines, protagonists vs antagonists and so forth. A lot of the texts we read in this class, I would have once considered a little stuffy and boring. Or I would have disliked them because my high school literature teacher would have forced them and their “brilliance” onto me and it was hard not to be contrary. After this course though, I felt like I learnt the ability to read texts that I would not traditionally like and appreciate them as well. I understand now the significance of literature not only in how interesting it is, but the meaning behind everything that occurs within a books pages. This understanding is furthered even more by the fact that these texts were all read in translation, adding another layer of meaning to interpret. So I ask you, how do you think your reading habits were changed/formed by this course? I am honestly grateful for the chance to take this course, as it really allowed me to develop my ability to read texts in a low-pressure environment. I felt this gave me the chance to fully explore new texts without having to worry about how well or accurately I had articulate myself.

Thank you so much to everyone who made this course so interesting, and farewell to my RMST 202 blog posts!

Comments

  1. BreanneApril 7, 2022 at 12:45 AM

    Hey! Great final post :) Sorry that your last week was ruined by covid, I too had to miss out on some classes this semester for the same reason. To answer your question, I dont think any of my reading habits have changed necessarily, however i do feel like i gained a greater appreciation for different kinds of literature!

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  2. TierraApril 7, 2022 at 9:17 AM

    Hi! Sorry to hear about you getting sick, I'm currently in the same boat :(
    I feel similarly to you that my reading habits changed in this course by altering my ability to understand such abstract texts like the ones we read in this course. I really appreciated the challenge, and am grateful to have taken this course!

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