School’s out – back to school!
Just in time for summer, I’ve decided to go back to school.
Before my parents read this and have a heart attack over the thought of STILL MORE student debt, let me just say relax! I actually haven’t gone completely insane: I’ve signed up for a bunch of FREE online classes, each given by different professors from universities around the world, all available from the comfort of my own home. No traveling, no tuition fees, no dorm rooming with my dad who’s trying to convince me that we’re “just like twins” (sorry, Mr. Bluth). Sure, I’ll still have to read books (well, ebooks), and write essays, but it’s basically all of the fun of going to college without all of the hassle.
My first class starts on June 3. It’s called The Fiction of Relationships, and is taught by Brown University’s Arnold Weinstein. Professor Weinstein has authored a book of the same name, and you can check out his course description – or enroll! – over here at Coursera.
The first book on our syllabus is Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost. I had never heard of either this book or its author before, so this should prove to be interesting.
Also on the reading list are a few more titles I’ve never read before, including:
- Bartleby the Scrivener (Herman Melville)
- To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)
- Beloved (Toni Morrison)
- Light in August (William Faulkner)
And a few I have, like:
- Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
- The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
- Disgrace (Coetzee)
- Ficciones (Borges)
If you’ve got some time to kill this summer, why not spend it reading some great literature? We can swap notes or be study buddies. Who’s in?
