how are arts and humanities at sc?

oldslug
Wed, 19 Oct 2005 18:00:28 +0000

I have to disagree with Tom’s assessment of the UCSC literature program and have to add that I think it’s unreasonable for someone to pass judgement on a program based on second hand reports of one undergraduate literary theory course. That being said, as a graduate of the UCSC literature program, I have to agree that this particular course is sterile, dry, and overly theoretical as is the upper level required counterpart; however, I find that’s the case with most literary theory courses and it’s much worse at other universities where deconstuctionist readings are not emphasized. Tom is also right that deconstructionalism is emphasized, although I can’t agree with his findings that deconstructionalism is on it’s way out among literary academics. How can you study literature without deconstructing it? With deconstructionalism, all texts are open to interpretation. Without it, all you have is the assumption that each text is to be read as if the author’s word is his/her intent without regard to subconscious societal, cultural, or linguistic influences. Sorry Tom, your judgement of the program rubbed me the wrong way.

On a more positive note, there is an exceptional stable of literature professors at UCSC. In my own experience, I really enjoyed the vast array of less mainstream courses that UCSC offered such as South African Literature, Science Fiction, Chicano Lit, and Contemporary American Fiction. At the same time, professors like John Jordan and Murray Baumgarten have encyclopedic knowledge and passion for Dickens and Shakespeare and other more mainstream writers. Those mainstream courses are your ticket to grad school and will stick with you forever. The less mainstream courses are what made my UCSC education special and different. Though I felt my education was well rounded, some grad schools will frown on UCSC’s tradition of treating contemporary and less mainstream literature in such high regard and I will freely admit that my study in more classical forms of literature was lacking (although you can tailor your coarseload accordingly). If that is a concern, you may want to look elsewhere. Personally, UCSC lit professors fostered in me an appreciation for literary variety that I wouldn’t trade for admission to any stuffy grad school.