how are arts and humanities at sc?

Tom_Holsinger_1
Wed, 02 Nov 2005 20:24:41 +0000

My information on UCSC’s Literature program comes from three UCSC graduates plus my daughter - my son who graduated last June, and two people in my area of whom one graduated about ten years ago and the other about 15 years ago.

Here’s a repeat of what I got from my son, who was a Politics major. His Lit major aquaintences said that the faculty is at best mediocre though there are some instructors who both enthusiastic about the subject and capable instructors. They all said the introductory course was horrible, and most felt that deconstructionism was overemphasized. They had low opinions of grad school prospects for UCSC Lit majors.

The two older graduates I know said about the same thing - one had dropped his Lit major while the other finished it and became a high school teacher - he never intended to go to grad school. Both felt strongly that UCSC’s Lit program during their time there was rife with trendy and politically correct nonsense.

My information about a nationwide trend in Lit/English programs away from deconstructionism comes from two sources - I read it somewhere, and my drama instructor friend, who says this sort of thing is normal. I have no idea if this is the case in UCSC’s Lit program.