Student Blogs

This week’s reading The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa revolved around dreams. Dreams have always fascinated me, as it probably should for any psychology major. The lecture mentioned how dreams are often considered to be opposed to practicality, and while I believe that can be true at times (with all of its […] read full post >>

 This book was definitely up there among my favourites of this term. It was simultaneously light and dealt with themes that I connected with, so I was able to engage with it more than I could with some other books we read. There were many themes involved in the novel, but the one that resonated with me the most was that of identity. On pages 117 and 118 (of my pdf - not sure what the page numbers are for a physical copy), there is a discussion of nationality and identity. I found it funny that Clarice Lispector was mentioned; though I didn't personally read her book this term, it still felt like a fun little crossover. 

As someone who has Iranian heritage, was born and raised in the UK, and is now living in Canada, I've thought a lot about how nationality may or may not be part of our identities. I would still consider myself Iranian if I didn't have citizenship, though I'm not sure that I'll ever consider myself Canadian even if I get the passport. I just think it's interesting how some places become ingrained in our identities, while some don't ever get to that status. 

Another quote that got the wheels in my head turning was: "Pacifism, my dear brother, is like mermaids: it can only breathe in the sea of fantasy, reality doesn't suit it", (p132 of my pdf). It reminds me of the quote from Soldiers of Salamis I discussed last week; "to me a civilised country is one where people don't have to waste their time on politics". Both contain a thread of idealism, though one is idealistic and the other shuts it down. It also makes me think about my stance on pacifism. Does it really work? Maybe it does. I feel like I could argue both sides. 

Overall, I think this novel did a good job of illustrating the places in between; neither fully good, nor fully bad, neither completely real, nor completely fantastical. The line that struck me as illustrating this idea well was: "Yes, he's a thug and a good father. I don't like the thug, but I love the father me is to me". It's a reminder of all the shades of grey in life and in people. I find it a more balanced view of the world, and an understanding that comes with age; 10 year old me certainly wouldn't have been able to fully comprehend it, and I think 30 year old me will have an even stronger grasp of the concept. 

The question I now pose to you is about pacifism. Do you think it can only exist in fantasy? Or can it survive in our current world?

read full post >>

 This book was definitely up there among my favourites of this term. It was simultaneously light and dealt with themes that I connected with, so I was able to engage with it more than I could with some other books we read. There were many themes involved in the novel, but the one that resonated with me the most was that of identity. On pages 117 and 118 (of my pdf - not sure what the page numbers are for a physical copy), there is a discussion of nationality and identity. I found it funny that Clarice Lispector was mentioned; though I didn't personally read her book this term, it still felt like a fun little crossover. 

As someone who has Iranian heritage, was born and raised in the UK, and is now living in Canada, I've thought a lot about how nationality may or may not be part of our identities. I would still consider myself Iranian if I didn't have citizenship, though I'm not sure that I'll ever consider myself Canadian even if I get the passport. I just think it's interesting how some places become ingrained in our identities, while some don't ever get to that status. 

Another quote that got the wheels in my head turning was: "Pacifism, my dear brother, is like mermaids: it can only breathe in the sea of fantasy, reality doesn't suit it", (p132 of my pdf). It reminds me of the quote from Soldiers of Salamis I discussed last week; "to me a civilised country is one where people don't have to waste their time on politics". Both contain a thread of idealism, though one is idealistic and the other shuts it down. It also makes me think about my stance on pacifism. Does it really work? Maybe it does. I feel like I could argue both sides. 

Overall, I think this novel did a good job of illustrating the places in between; neither fully good, nor fully bad, neither completely real, nor completely fantastical. The line that struck me as illustrating this idea well was: "Yes, he's a thug and a good father. I don't like the thug, but I love the father me is to me". It's a reminder of all the shades of grey in life and in people. I find it a more balanced view of the world, and an understanding that comes with age; 10 year old me certainly wouldn't have been able to fully comprehend it, and I think 30 year old me will have an even stronger grasp of the concept. 

The question I now pose to you is about pacifism. Do you think it can only exist in fantasy? Or can it survive in our current world?

read full post >>

For the final week, I chose to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers. I believe I chose this book solely based on the interesting title. I enjoyed this book tremendously, I could say that it's one of my favorite books I’ve read this semester, if not my favorite. I thought the writing style was easy to follow, there was no confusion and all the central characters were very interesting. Reading Hossi’s journal entries helped us know a lot about him as well as understand his past and his ability to infiltrate other people’s dreams. I really enjoyed his story with Ava, how he met her at a difficult time in his life (and hers) and how they gave each other hope that they desperately needed. Ava finding him all those years later on the beach and then losing him right away was a tragic ending to their story. 

Moira was another really interesting character, I could see her artistic and creative persona in everything she said, everything she wrote and everything she wore. Dreams are a fascinating topic and reading about how she created art out of her dreams made me desperately want to see her work. There was a certain dreamy element to the book, the way Daniel got in touch with Moira for example. He was swimming in the ocean when he came across the camera that included photos of a woman he’d been dreaming of. He emails her and she turns out to be a person of great importance in his life.

The idea that there is a machine that would create movies out of dreams is fascinating. I’m someone who hardly ever remembers her dreams but I know that we all dream frequently, how interesting would it be to actually see a video of my dreams! However, I don’t think I’m brave enough to let people into my mind like that. If someone came up to you and offered to record your dreams for you and show them to you in the form of a short movie, would you do it? 

I also can’t end the post without mentioning the rebels, the young people who dreamed of a better future for their country and believed they had the power to achieve it. Daniel and his ex wife handled this situation with their daughter very differently and it was a reflection of why they would never have made it as partners or parents to their child. 

Overall, this was a fantastic book that was hard to put down and one that I will definitely reread in the future.

read full post >>

For the final week, I chose to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers. I believe I chose this book solely based on the interesting title. I enjoyed this book tremendously, I could say that it's one of my favorite books I’ve read this semester, if not my favorite. I thought the writing style was easy to follow, there was no confusion and all the central characters were very interesting. Reading Hossi’s journal entries helped us know a lot about him as well as understand his past and his ability to infiltrate other people’s dreams. I really enjoyed his story with Ava, how he met her at a difficult time in his life (and hers) and how they gave each other hope that they desperately needed. Ava finding him all those years later on the beach and then losing him right away was a tragic ending to their story. 

Moira was another really interesting character, I could see her artistic and creative persona in everything she said, everything she wrote and everything she wore. Dreams are a fascinating topic and reading about how she created art out of her dreams made me desperately want to see her work. There was a certain dreamy element to the book, the way Daniel got in touch with Moira for example. He was swimming in the ocean when he came across the camera that included photos of a woman he’d been dreaming of. He emails her and she turns out to be a person of great importance in his life.

The idea that there is a machine that would create movies out of dreams is fascinating. I’m someone who hardly ever remembers her dreams but I know that we all dream frequently, how interesting would it be to actually see a video of my dreams! However, I don’t think I’m brave enough to let people into my mind like that. If someone came up to you and offered to record your dreams for you and show them to you in the form of a short movie, would you do it? 

I also can’t end the post without mentioning the rebels, the young people who dreamed of a better future for their country and believed they had the power to achieve it. Daniel and his ex wife handled this situation with their daughter very differently and it was a reflection of why they would never have made it as partners or parents to their child. 

Overall, this was a fantastic book that was hard to put down and one that I will definitely reread in the future.

read full post >>

Time flies like an arrow, especially for those who have had several dues in one week. Overall, I liked this course so much better than I expected. At the beginning of the term, remember we all wrote a blog post in which we expressed how we felt about the course and literature in general and […] read full post >>

Well this was definitely an interesting novel to end on. The Society of Reluctant Dreamers of all the novels really had a unique style/flow/feel and I felt like I never really knew where the novel was headed. Often just as … Continue reading → read full post >>

Hello everyone, and welcome to the final Blog Entry from my side anyways. I debated for a while on what... read full post >>

 I can’t believe we are already at the end of the term. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was writing my introduction post. In the past 12 weeks, I have been exposed to so many texts and authors that I otherwise would have probably never encountered. I loved the freedom we had to choose which books we would read each week. I’m not the biggest reader, but I was surprised by how manageable reading 1 book a week was to add to my schedule. While it was a little difficult to get into the habit, it started to become routine and now I feel accomplished looking back at all the texts I was able to get through. 

The connections that were starting to form between all the texts were really interesting to see. Whether it was the themes or the narratives, I was able to start seeing patterns of what they had in common. I have really enjoyed the different themes that we as a class have explored. I couldn’t write this conclusion without mentioning memory as it was such a central theme in so many of the texts. I started to look forward to seeing how the authors would describe memory each week. I think the ones that stood out to me in this sense and that explored memory the best were W. or the Memory of Childhood, Amulet, and Combray.

Looking back to all the books I chose to read this term, I think my favourites were The Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda and Bonjour Tristesse by Sagan. I know they are very different but, I really liked the narrators in these two books. I found them easier to follow along with because they were both interesting women and while reading their stories I was excited to see what they were going to do next. I liked to see how they dealt with situations when it felt like they were backed into a corner and while I might not have agreed with every decision they made, I think they were authentic to themselves and it made for a more engaging read. 

Thank you, Jon, Jennifer, and Patricio for making this a great term. I have enjoyed reading all the blog posts and hearing everyone's opinions in person. To end off my final post, my question for the class is what were some of your favourite themes that we have encountered this term? 

read full post >>

 I can’t believe we are already at the end of the term. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was writing my introduction post. In the past 12 weeks, I have been exposed to so many texts and authors that I otherwise would have probably never encountered. I loved the freedom we had to choose which books we would read each week. I’m not the biggest reader, but I was surprised by how manageable reading 1 book a week was to add to my schedule. While it was a little difficult to get into the habit, it started to become routine and now I feel accomplished looking back at all the texts I was able to get through. 

The connections that were starting to form between all the texts were really interesting to see. Whether it was the themes or the narratives, I was able to start seeing patterns of what they had in common. I have really enjoyed the different themes that we as a class have explored. I couldn’t write this conclusion without mentioning memory as it was such a central theme in so many of the texts. I started to look forward to seeing how the authors would describe memory each week. I think the ones that stood out to me in this sense and that explored memory the best were W. or the Memory of Childhood, Amulet, and Combray.

Looking back to all the books I chose to read this term, I think my favourites were The Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda and Bonjour Tristesse by Sagan. I know they are very different but, I really liked the narrators in these two books. I found them easier to follow along with because they were both interesting women and while reading their stories I was excited to see what they were going to do next. I liked to see how they dealt with situations when it felt like they were backed into a corner and while I might not have agreed with every decision they made, I think they were authentic to themselves and it made for a more engaging read. 

Thank you, Jon, Jennifer, and Patricio for making this a great term. I have enjoyed reading all the blog posts and hearing everyone's opinions in person. To end off my final post, my question for the class is what were some of your favourite themes that we have encountered this term? 

read full post >>

For the final book of this course, I chose to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa. I really liked this book. There was a lot going on that added so much detail to the plot. I especially liked the incorporation of Hossi’s journal entries and the letters between the characters. I always like when authors add different forms of writing to their writing. This in particular reminded me of Paris Peasant because I remember how Aragon incorporated menus and newspaper clippings. On another note, when Daniel Benchimol is dreaming about people that he has not met and events that have not happened yet it reminded me of Amulet and how while trapped inside the bathroom, Auxilio was able to recall memories from the future. However, unlike some of our other readings, I was glad that this one had a more happy ending for Moira, Daniel, and Karinguiri.

The book itself had a dreamlike quality on its own. I found it a little confusing to figure out whether I was reading something that was in the present or in a dream or in the past. It was such an interesting plot combining the political aspect of Angola with the idea of the dream lab technology taking pictures of dreams and how the two began to interact with each other. Dreams in this book were a way of connecting people with similar ideologies. I think Daniels's daughter, Karinguiri was my favourite character because she was true to her beliefs no matter what. Even with her mother’s family’s disapproval, and being imprisoned she never gave up on what she thought was right.  

I thought Daniel Benchimol’s relationship with Moira was interesting considering that he had been recently divorced from Lucrécia who had completely different values than Daniel. At the beginning of the novel, Daniel is upset because of his failed marriage and tells his friend how people shouldn’t marry for love, instead “if people always got married when lucid, they’d only ever do it out of self-interest, like [his]  parents.” Then by the end of the novel, we see him re-establish what love means to him and how he can both be in love and have his self-interest in mind. While romance isn’t the most important theme, I thought this aspect of character development was nice to see for Daniel.

My question to the class is: What did you think of Moira and Daniel's relationship?

read full post >>

For the final book of this course, I chose to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa. I really liked this book. There was a lot going on that added so much detail to the plot. I especially liked the incorporation of Hossi’s journal entries and the letters between the characters. I always like when authors add different forms of writing to their writing. This in particular reminded me of Paris Peasant because I remember how Aragon incorporated menus and newspaper clippings. On another note, when Daniel Benchimol is dreaming about people that he has not met and events that have not happened yet it reminded me of Amulet and how while trapped inside the bathroom, Auxilio was able to recall memories from the future. However, unlike some of our other readings, I was glad that this one had a more happy ending for Moira, Daniel, and Karinguiri.

The book itself had a dreamlike quality on its own. I found it a little confusing to figure out whether I was reading something that was in the present or in a dream or in the past. It was such an interesting plot combining the political aspect of Angola with the idea of the dream lab technology taking pictures of dreams and how the two began to interact with each other. Dreams in this book were a way of connecting people with similar ideologies. I think Daniels's daughter, Karinguiri was my favourite character because she was true to her beliefs no matter what. Even with her mother’s family’s disapproval, and being imprisoned she never gave up on what she thought was right.  

I thought Daniel Benchimol’s relationship with Moira was interesting considering that he had been recently divorced from Lucrécia who had completely different values than Daniel. At the beginning of the novel, Daniel is upset because of his failed marriage and tells his friend how people shouldn’t marry for love, instead “if people always got married when lucid, they’d only ever do it out of self-interest, like [his]  parents.” Then by the end of the novel, we see him re-establish what love means to him and how he can both be in love and have his self-interest in mind. While romance isn’t the most important theme, I thought this aspect of character development was nice to see for Daniel.

My question to the class is: What did you think of Moira and Daniel's relationship?

read full post >>

Throughout the past few months, this course felt like an endless seesaw ride, bouncing against different – yet similar – themes and cultures. In the beginning of the course, I questioned what “Romance Studies” was, or rather, what it could have meant. However, right from the introductory lecture, I realized I won’t be able to […] read full post >>

 This course was extremely interesting. It had an entirely different grading system than any course I have done before. I really enjoyed the way this course was marked as it was easy to find motivation and consistency because you know exactly what you are working towards. I also found that it was easy to do class both online or in-person due to the layout. There was not an adjustment period needed for the transition from online to in-person classes. I also found that I did not feel overwhelmed or stressed because I had a pre-determined grade. Because each week required the same amount of homework I found that it was more flexible and manageable than other courses. The consistency of the course was my favourite aspect. 

I really enjoyed the blog posts as well because they provided a platform for everyone to share their ideas. In other classes it can be overwhelming to share your thoughts but the online platform made it very easy to. It was nice being able to see different ideas and perspectives from my peers that I may not have thought of on my own. This course also made me read literature that I would not have otherwise read but that I enjoyed. One of my favourite novels was W, or the Memory of Childhood. I found that the contrast between the real world and W was very fun to read and compare. I also enjoyed how different the story was to the rest of the readings that were very grounded in reality and daily situations. This story was more imaginative and creative than the other ones we had read. I think the choice of novels was very broad and provided the readers (students) with different genres and themes. 

This course has forced me to rethink the way I read and understand literature. It has taught me not to analyze each sentence but examine the overall theme and read between the lines. At the beginning of the course we discussed how high school ruined reading for many students and I feel as though this course has helped to fix that. I also enjoyed the structure of the class lessons as we were able to work closely with classmates and then contribute ideas to the class and instructors. Everyone brought different perspectives and ideas that were very interesting to hear. 

My question to the class: Do you agree that this course has helped repair the way that we read literature? Why or why not? 

read full post >>

 This course was extremely interesting. It had an entirely different grading system than any course I have done before. I really enjoyed the way this course was marked as it was easy to find motivation and consistency because you know exactly what you are working towards. I also found that it was easy to do class both online or in-person due to the layout. There was not an adjustment period needed for the transition from online to in-person classes. I also found that I did not feel overwhelmed or stressed because I had a pre-determined grade. Because each week required the same amount of homework I found that it was more flexible and manageable than other courses. The consistency of the course was my favourite aspect. 

I really enjoyed the blog posts as well because they provided a platform for everyone to share their ideas. In other classes it can be overwhelming to share your thoughts but the online platform made it very easy to. It was nice being able to see different ideas and perspectives from my peers that I may not have thought of on my own. This course also made me read literature that I would not have otherwise read but that I enjoyed. One of my favourite novels was W, or the Memory of Childhood. I found that the contrast between the real world and W was very fun to read and compare. I also enjoyed how different the story was to the rest of the readings that were very grounded in reality and daily situations. This story was more imaginative and creative than the other ones we had read. I think the choice of novels was very broad and provided the readers (students) with different genres and themes. 

This course has forced me to rethink the way I read and understand literature. It has taught me not to analyze each sentence but examine the overall theme and read between the lines. At the beginning of the course we discussed how high school ruined reading for many students and I feel as though this course has helped to fix that. I also enjoyed the structure of the class lessons as we were able to work closely with classmates and then contribute ideas to the class and instructors. Everyone brought different perspectives and ideas that were very interesting to hear. 

My question to the class: Do you agree that this course has helped repair the way that we read literature? Why or why not? 

read full post >>