Nicholas Latimer - Introduction - Week 0 - SPAN312

Dear class,

Hope everyone is enjoying a sun-shining weekend! 

My name is Nicholas, I'm a psychology major in my third year, interested in health research. I've enjoyed the path so far, which also means that I haven't gotten to experience any classes like ours just yet. I've taken a couple writing-based classes, but few that require as much reading as I will challenge myself with this term. I signed up for this class essentially because I heard fantastic reviews about our professor, and that his teaching/course style was very unique & fun - which was a no-brainer after seeing that it would satisfy the lit requirements for my program! Kicking off the first week, I can already see from lecture 1 that the priorities of the classroom are not just to say the right thing, but to think freely and open-mindedly about the content of our literature - which is something I've found more or less rare in my studies so far. So I suppose my expectation for the course is that I am going to read a bunch, but perhaps what I'm most excited/nervous about is getting comfortable "thinking out loud" and maybe just speaking more generally - in front of groups. I've also never really read any Spanish literature - so very open to forming more of a rounded perspective on a presumably awesome part of Spanish culture!

In response to some of the lecture questions…. I anticipate the readings to be quite lengthy, where I may be cramming the reading time in order to write a good post, or finish on time for the discussion. With that said, I do think there will be many that capture my attention way more than I expect, which will be much more enjoyable than others, which is the times when I will likely be getting the most out of the course. I usually find when I read for pleasure, that I either like a book a lot, or dread going back to it, but when I do enjoy reading I can happily spend an entire day reflecting, reading, or writing about concepts that came up. Those weeks are what I am most excited about! 

In terms of my current associations with the literature, I didn't really have a single idea in my head about what to compare it to, or what stereotypes it would even have in my head - although in class it was mentioned that magic has, in the past, been something the genre has been known for it storytelling - however, I imagine that based on the books we are reading, there will be less mysticism, and more realist, intense, raw, material to read through - which is typically what I prefer to consume in form of non-fiction writing. 

With all that said, I have few expectations for the first reading, and for those to come, but know that pushing myself to read this much will be expansive in many ways beyond my thinking of literature - but of Spanish culture and history as well.

Looking forward to meeting and discussing with you all, 

In the meantime I’m curious; how do you time-organize your readings?? All in one afternoon, 10 pages a night?? I think I’ll be trying them all this year….