Looking back on my last four years at Haverford, and this semester in particular, I figured it would only be appropriate to wait until the last minute to turn in my final assignment of college. This class was a unique experience for me; I haven’t been in a discussion based class since my first semester at Haverford, and it was my writing sem. I came into the class pretty nervous, worried that I wouldn’t really be able to think critically about our topics in the same way as all of you.
Now that the semester is over, I think I was right. However, reflecting back past this semester to my Haverford experience more broadly, I’m pretty happy with that. I felt like I was learning much more from seeing your creative appetizers or intricate ways of weaving a mid 20th century analysis of a late medieval novelist into our experience in the modern world than I was from my own plodding through the readings. This is the reason I came to Haverford: to be surrounded by peers and faculty who would lift me up not only in my best subjects but also those where I struggle.
I really enjoyed the content of this course. Rabelais surpassed my expectations as a hilarious novelist, and I was exposed to a large body of literature to which I was previously unaware. I particularly enjoyed our reading of Shakespeare, since it was recontextualizing work with which I was already familiar. Through the eyes of Bakhtin (and Matt), I started to read Shakespeare’s plays in new perspectives and with a renewed energy, as opposed to droll high school read-throughs in English class. One thing in particular that this class made me appreciate is reading literature that can be a little out of touch with modern (socially progressive leaning) beliefs in a critical way and still appreciate the wealth of knowledge that can be learned from it. I think a particular thanks is owed to Matt for creating an atmosphere in which the discussion surrounding these works was able to proceed in a respectful and thoughtful manner.
I am very thankful to have had this class, both during the semester and as a way to stay in touch with my peers during quarantine. It was a very unique academic experience for me, and gave me new perspectives on the world than any other class I have taken. Thank you Matt for all of your flexibility and hard work, and thank you to this class for being so smart and creative! I learned so much from all of you.
