I did, actually! I took an Intro to Folklore that was incredibly disappointing. We didn't talk about mythology at all; rather the whole class was about ways to collect folklore, theories on why folklore such as jokes or urban legends became popular and how they spread and what they said about the populations telling them.
Oh, feh. I hate those classes. I don't want interpretation of folklore, or discussion of theories, or analysis of its usefulness in the current age. Just give me the stories, damn it. *G* As many as possible, as fast as possible, from as many cultures as possible. I'll draw my own conclusions about their usefulness, parallels, and application to the human condition/psyche.
But I did get to write my term paper on the 'my hed iz pastde on yay' wank, since I made the argument that fandom_wank was obviously a folk culture, in terms of people who spend time together, share obscure termonology and create art, stories and other items as part of a shared community. That was fun.
Fandom as a whole is a folk culture, with a lot of subcultures, of which I definitely agree fandom_wank is one. And a lot of the jokes and terminology have leaked out into the larger fandom community, which is interesting to watch (probably more interesting if you're more familiar with f_w than I am, but oh well).
Hemingway isn't too bad, and I haven't read Steinbeck, but I've rarely been very enthusatic for any books I read in school. Shakespeare's an exception, and I'm sure there's a few others I'm forgetting, but in general I've much preferred by own choices, even when it comes to "classic" type things.
I loathe Hemingway, though he's not so long-winded as Dickens. Try to avoid Steinbeck if at all possible. I was lucky enough to get some very good English teachers a time or two, and some of them were able to manipulate the curriculum somewhat to give us the good stuff. I first read Farenheit 451 for school, and spent one delirious Christmas vacation devouring our reading assignments: Lord of the Flies, Heart of Darkness, Slaughterhouse Five, and...drat, I forget the other two. I had them all finished before Christmas hit, though, and got my parents to buy me my own copies as Christmas presents. *G*
Shakespeare I knew because Dad used to read it to us when we were little (he did theatre in college), but my first encounter with Chaucer was in school, as well as Cry, the Beloved Country!. Even thinking about that book still moves me to tears. It had some of the most amazing passages.
no subject
Oh, feh. I hate those classes. I don't want interpretation of folklore, or discussion of theories, or analysis of its usefulness in the current age. Just give me the stories, damn it. *G* As many as possible, as fast as possible, from as many cultures as possible. I'll draw my own conclusions about their usefulness, parallels, and application to the human condition/psyche.
But I did get to write my term paper on the 'my hed iz pastde on yay' wank, since I made the argument that fandom_wank was obviously a folk culture, in terms of people who spend time together, share obscure termonology and create art, stories and other items as part of a shared community. That was fun.
Fandom as a whole is a folk culture, with a lot of subcultures, of which I definitely agree fandom_wank is one. And a lot of the jokes and terminology have leaked out into the larger fandom community, which is interesting to watch (probably more interesting if you're more familiar with f_w than I am, but oh well).
Hemingway isn't too bad, and I haven't read Steinbeck, but I've rarely been very enthusatic for any books I read in school. Shakespeare's an exception, and I'm sure there's a few others I'm forgetting, but in general I've much preferred by own choices, even when it comes to "classic" type things.
I loathe Hemingway, though he's not so long-winded as Dickens. Try to avoid Steinbeck if at all possible. I was lucky enough to get some very good English teachers a time or two, and some of them were able to manipulate the curriculum somewhat to give us the good stuff. I first read Farenheit 451 for school, and spent one delirious Christmas vacation devouring our reading assignments: Lord of the Flies, Heart of Darkness, Slaughterhouse Five, and...drat, I forget the other two. I had them all finished before Christmas hit, though, and got my parents to buy me my own copies as Christmas presents. *G*
Shakespeare I knew because Dad used to read it to us when we were little (he did theatre in college), but my first encounter with Chaucer was in school, as well as Cry, the Beloved Country!. Even thinking about that book still moves me to tears. It had some of the most amazing passages.