My first month at university as a literature student

In today's video I'm talking about my experience of going back to University at 28 years old as a comparative literature student. Hope you enjoy :-)
00:00 It's been 4 weeks
00:54 I LOVE my courses
01:26 Courses I'm taking
02:00 What I'm reading and learning
02:52 Learning what I love
03:43 My favourite course
04:50 Critical thinking
05:52 Being REALLY busy
06:56 If you're thinking about studying...
08:14 Politics
11:27 Being a bit older...
12:12 Building and architecture of the Uni in Vienna
13:51 Come study in Vienna! :-)
14:16 My colleagues
15:44 Struggles
16:01 Struggle #1 - "Science"
18:22 Struggle #2 - Heavy themes

[@doberman_hund]

Thank you for a beautifully quiet video! It's very relaxing to listen to you talk in contrast to a lot of other book youtubers who overemphasize quick cuts, annoying background music and loud talking. I enrolled in uni at 25 and similarly felt a little out of place at times - it was the still the best decision of my life, and I hope you will end up feeling similarly. Looking forward to the video next week.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you ❤ I'm so glad to hear that. And glad that the calm video style resonates.

[@MaryReadsToLive]

If everyone were affected by learning about the horrible things that have happened in the world, there would be a lot more progress and kindness in the world. It's a strength even if it doesn't feel like it in the moment. You are doing great, and I'm glad you are going to keep going in Uni despite the struggles! *Hugs*

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you ❤ You might be right... This comment means a lot to me.

[@leof2497]

You seem like a person with an open heart and an open mind, I'm sure this will be an enriching experience, although turbulent at times. Enjoy the trip, the valleys and the peaks!

[@strange.lucidity]

I appreciate that ❤ Thanks a lot!

[@abdimalik.]

I can relate to your experience- after studying for two years with only two years left, I “dropped out” when I was 19 because my studies felt so aimless and I was suffering academically for it. I took 2 years off, during which time I was a depressed vegetable for several months, I also worked a full time manufacturing job for a full year, plus I did extensive travel in Puerto Rico and Egypt. I did so much learning during that time. I became emotionally knowledgeable, I learned self discipline and habits, and I clearly decided what I was going to do. I came back to school last fall with a true clarity, and the love I’ve had for learning feels like I’ve been reborn, truly. I am studying Journalism and film, my career goal is to blend them and be a documentarian! Last year I created so much art, I had a short film that won an award, I was in a few plays and I even wrote and produced my very own! This is now my senior year, and I’m really cherishing being a student. I walk new paths I haven’t tried before, I wander through buildings I’ve never entered, I engage with my professors, I even do all of my readings and enjoy the endless pdf’s (even the most boring ones, because I’m still learning!) And like you, I come home and rave to my siblings about the cool things I learned that day, it feels so rewarding and like this is what school should be about. I think everyone should leave school for a while and come back with true adult clarity and purpose, because even the hard things become part of the gift. The commute is long, but it’s great dedicated reading and homework time, and technically this reading isn’t required but it’s relevant to my studies so I’ll read it, etc. Good luck on your journey as it begins, and good luck for me on my final year! I truly am considering doing a literature degree in Europe in a couple years. I don’t want to stop being a student, and I think literature is the perfect continuation for me. You’re selling me on Vienna 😂

[@strange.lucidity]

Wow, we have many similarities. How cool. Glad to have you here ❤ Also, how amazing is studying journalism and film. I love that. I feel very confident about my choice in studying a bit later as well. It's very different and feels great bec of all the things you described. Much love to you! And I'll keep selling Vienna for a bit ;-)

[@mimicaaaa]

iIve been considering studying literature at uni after completely detesting the idea for the past couple years (I'm good at it and I enjoy it but the stress would eat me alive) so I'm happy I came over to your corner to see how someone like you has been faring :)) You have a really pleasant vibe, so please don't change your style of making videos, and I wish you good luck for your studies!

[@strange.lucidity]

Amazing. Thanks for sharing and all the best however you decide :-)

[@victoriah.2083]

You "lit up" talking about yr classes. Anytime anyone lights up talking about a hobby, pursuit, interest, goal, career move, change, etc., then I know they have great passion for what they are doing and they are following their intuitive center. So happy for you. Luv yr channel. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.❤

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank YOU ❤

[@OGUNITube]

I studied English literature, especially Shakespeare, at university, and what I learned there has been very helpful in my work (and on my life) as a member of society. Even though I live on the opposite side of the world geographically, I enjoy listening to your thoughts on my favorite works of literature while feeling close to the atmosphere of my beloved Vienna. The German reading of Goethe's Faust is truly wonderful. Unfortunately, I can only enjoy it in Japanese or English. I should try German…

[@strange.lucidity]

So glad to hear all that. Good to have you here ❤ And yes, try it in German :D

[@Michael-zh6sp]

Thank you! I look forward to following you on your journey. I enrolled in college when I was 46 years old, graduated at 51. Best years of my life as I trust they will be for you. Your videos are touching as they are real. I always find something in your message that leaves me to ponder. I sense a great deal of maturity in your comments about the required readings. Thank you once again for sharing.

[@strange.lucidity]

Wow thank you for your kind words ❤ All the best to you!

[@thisisveryannoying]

I was really moved by your response to Maus. It shows how powerful literature can be. Painful but beautiful, too. I hope your course accommodates emotional needs of the students, so that you can have some debriefing or reelection on what effected you deeply, in a safe space. From what I understand about you at this point is that you are mindful to what you need to support yourself, such as people in your life, your environment and what you let into your life. All this will help to cope with the hard bits.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you. Yes, I'll take care of myself in that way, don't worry 🙂

[@LaughingStockfarm1]

One of the things that helps me maintain my equilibrium while witnessing to the horrors of the world is to seek out those who are able to actively resist, survive and work for peace and healing. I have learned they are always there, often very quiet but they are there and they are my inspiration. ❤️

[@strange.lucidity]

That is a good focus indeed. Thank you! ❤

[@Autumnfound.]

I’m not great with commenting but I just want to say thank you for sharing. There is something so delicate and yet so fierce about you ✨

[@strange.lucidity]

Oh wow. That really touched me. Thank you so much for commenting anyways ❤ That means a lot.

[@kenclary2364]

The struggle for human connection will be a life long endeavor. Given your love of literature and personal introversion, I think you are opening up possibilities by taking courses and doing these videos. No doubt, they will expose and awaken knowledge of both good and evil, which makes it necessary to adopt an observational, objective point of view. Events have to be understood in a contextual way. I find great comfort in studying why things happen. I look forward to your videos, sharing your thoughts on literature and life.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you ❤

[@susanallison5101]

Oh love I am 75 years old and am the same about the horrors of the world. There isn’t an answer to how to cope with what we know other than to keep going and be kind to others. It seems inadequate but what else is there that we can do. Enjoy your literature and your life my dear.xxx

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you for this!

[@raquelvazquezhiggins6293]

I resonated so much with your university experience. I went back to school 2 years ago and just went full time at the age of 29. I’m not a literature major but if I had twice the time I would love to. I love how you think, it’s honestly so refreshing ❤

[@thisisveryannoying]

Absolutely understand your struggle with science / research applied to arts or literature. I had the same struggle when I studied psychotherapy and how treatments are assessed as evidence based or not, for example. Luckily, science is also evolving and qualitative methods are becoming more mainstream. You can do interesting research through autoethnography, interpretative phenomenological analysis and other qualitative methods which are much more applicable to arts and humanities.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you for this ❤ It's frustrating but I'm sure there's ways around it yeah...

[@Lisa-qt4hh]

Very interesting to hear about your experience! It's lovely to hear that you love what you are doing. I also liked listening to your doubts and I particularly liked how you talked about having doubts about the scientific method for studying/engaging with literature. It is a debate we have often touched upon in the university I attend (University of Groningen). People try to legitimize what they are doing by using 'scientific' tools, to make their research more rigorous and relevant, but some are skeptical about it; about whether these methods can even be called scientific or if it is more pseudo-scientific, but also, as you indicate, about whether you should want to apply such methods to a medium (like literature or mostly film in the case of my studies) that requires a lot of interpretation. I also lean towards the attitude you have about it. I think borrowing some things from science might be interesting (you have for instance cognitive film studies that combine brain studies with film viewing, or studies that use quantitative analytical methods to explore structural similarities between works of art, or that use these quantitative methods to be very specific about how much a certain element occurs in a particular text) but that we should always be aware of the subjective/interpretative quality of art and also that analysing these works requires subjectivity and interpretation.

[@thomasscottwilliams6672]

Thank you for your insight and your compassion, empathy is a difficult emotion and hard to navigate in a world with so much violence and being empathetic is a good sign that you are one of the world that will not rush to judgment or war. Stay strong and read well.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you I appreciate your comment.a lot ❤

[@basedmanaf8100]

My mother graduated when she was 45. There's no age limit for learning new subjects.

[@jarrodsio]

please do more a day in the life! vienna uni is pretty. I can empathise with your gripe about the age gap between you and your classmates. I went back to uni at the age of 39...and my classmates were 22. It was touching how affected you were reading Maus and relating it to Austria and a dark part of its history. Embrace that emotion and pour it out in your essays.

[@weenyboyscott6222]

Hi Maria, it's Scott. I'm so pleased and chuffed to hear you are enjoying University as you anticipated you would! As some token advice regarding unpalatable historical reading you have now to encounter, perhaps recall each time that these lessons are, mostly probably and primarily for the benefit of your younger fellow students who may not yet have met or absorbed the gravity of such events and so, I reckon, your Professors feel dutybound to enlighten these people who might just be new to these world calamities/ happenings despite being bright and aware/ open to history's faults and lessons for the future generations.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you for this Scott!

[@Ozgipsy]

What a wonderful adventure you’ve started. I’ll look forward to hearing your literature updates.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you ❤

[@agneskatarina]

I don’t even know how I found your video but I enjoyed it very much. Greetings from the English Department of the University of Vienna (I am actually a first year student there and a fellow literature enthusiast). And who knows, maybe we will even meet some day:)

[@strange.lucidity]

Oh wow. So cool. ❤ Definitely say hi if you see me :D

[@sansfoy1114]

I like the notion that literature reads us. So it is not at all surprising to hear that perhaps many young people find politics important to literary analysis and even appreciation and that your, presumably, older professors find other avenues into the texts. There are many paths into literature. We discover these different paths in the different seasons of our lives. I think here about your video on Hamlet, a play that is a touchstone for me. I read it quite differently today that I did five years, or ten years, or twenty years ago. Our experience of the world gives us new eyes for reading - or seeing - great literary or artistic works. That’s why good books must be reread. They read us.

[@strange.lucidity]

Such a great perspective. I needed this reminder. Thanks ❤

[@thedpend]

I hope you continue finding your new studies as fulfilling as they are now. I went to Uni for English back when I was 18-22 (this was roughly 13ish years ago now) - & I remember meeting folks who were older & far wiser than I was really helpful - not just in my own studies but in my growth as a human being. They were able to foster a real sense of perspective - which is often lacking when you're just coming out of teenagerhood surrounded by only other folk the exact same age, maturity level, & life experience. So I hope you can be that for the younger kids around you. Though no pressure though! I know how difficult it can be to build & maintain bridges with folk! I also totally understand your frustration with some of the professors set in their ways/philosophies of teaching. As my own studies went on, my frustrations with the English department at my old uni grew more & more apparent & were some of the main reasons I didn't continue into graduate studies. I hope in your case it's just one weird/bad egg & not a whole clutch!

[@Life_Of_Mine_]

This is the most beautiful hairstyle you've had up to date... Love your content, love how it is confidential and direct... Much love from Saudi Arabia ❤️

[@joshuacreboreads]

I also just started university, but in Canada. I’m discovering that literary studies here are very politicized, and I’m getting increasingly annoyed with it. I’m glad that you aren’t having that experience🙂. I thought your words about Maus and those horrible things were very touching. I’ve had similar feelings before, where you think about the many atrocities committed and for a while they just consume you and stick in your head. It’s quite chilling to think that such things are so near to us too. Like you said, the holocaust wasn’t even 100 years ago. Thank you for a wonderfully thoughtful and honest video! I really enjoyed listening to you talk about these things, and it means a lot to me!

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you for this. I feel very touched ❤

[@micaelagarrido7561]

I love this, I'm in the same situation I'm 29 and I decided to go back to Uni and study literature, it's difficult having a job but I'm taking it slow to enjoy it and don't become stressed out. I've been fisically impelled to talk to my collegues more than 2 or 3 words, but I think that time will come, the differences are pretty big but for now it's ok, I'm just glad to be there and to learn.

[@micaelagarrido7561]

Regarding the last thing you mentioned, I always have this discussion with myself about what to do with the topics that cause me distress. My tactic has always been to evade them in order to continue living and functioning, but there comes a point where you can't evade. It is worse. I think the healthiest thing is to face these issues, think about them, inform yourself and solve them (you are not going to solve them, but you are going to solve what you do with it, what you think about it and how you want to deal with it from now on) and that solves the problem in the long term

[@evamatlach1986]

Ich könnte dir tatsächlich stundenlang zuhören! 😊 Danke für deine Einblicke, Gedanken und Gefühle. Als Wienerin, die bereits in OÖ und jetzt in NÖ wohnt, verstehe ich, dass Wien viel ist! 😅 Habe gerade zwei Bücher im Zusammenhang mit dem Krieg beendet („Die Bücherdiebin“ und „Die Nachtigall“) und für mich ist das auch immer sehr emotional! Eines meiner Kinder ist mit einem Gendefekt auf die Welt gekommen und immer, wenn ich das höre, lese, bekomme ich alle Zustände! 🥺 Schön, dass ich durch dich ein wenig von meinem Traumstudium mitbekomme, freu mich schon auf das nächste Video! 💚

[@strange.lucidity]

Oh vielen Dank für diesen liebevollen Kommentar und dass du das alles mit mir teilst. Schön, dass du da bist ♥

[@kseniyasbooknook4172]

Your experience sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing with us! A course on memory and time sounds perfect! Looking forward to hearing more about your journey

[@simon.voggeneder]

Greetings from Freistadt, Upper Austria. You said that you live 10km from a concentration camp where they killed mentally disabled people. I suppose you talk about castle Hartheim, so I guess you live not too far from where I am from. Up to this video I just assumed you would live in Vienna. Commuting more than two hours in each direction is a real mark of dedication on your part. It is obvious that your studies are exactly what you want to do. The older I get (35 currently), the more I think that many people should wait a few years before they start their university studies, especially if they are unsure what they should study. With the added perspective of a few years of work experience one can better assess what really suits oneself. Thank you for your videos. I like them for their relaxing atmosphere and literary content (I came here through a suggestion under a video by Benjamin McEvoy) and I am looking forward to following you through your studies and the books you read.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you so much for being here. Cool to have someone from around here watching along. Wishing you all the best ❤

[@richarddelanet]

I just completed an online course via Ralston College, on Rasselas by Samuel Johnson. Literature is a nice diversion for me since I am generally very interested and focused on all of history.

[@strange.lucidity]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing ❤

[@namelessjoe27]

Good job! Be careful with heavy things but keep visiting them. Thanks for sharing

[@strange.lucidity]

I will ❤ Thank you!

[@valala2987]

I'm also 28 years old and currently in my 3rd semester studying English Literature and Linguistics in Germany. Despite the age gap between my colleagues and me I still think going back to uni was the best decision of my life. The first semester was definitely a bit weird but try to not completely isolate yourself from your colleagues and you'll be totally fine. I hope you enjoy your studies and good luck! :D Edit: I can understand your struggle with "science". It really seems weird to apply the scientific method to something so unscientific as literature. The way I see it is that with the help of secondary sources we are able to look at texts in new ways and interpret them from a completely new perspective. Despite it just being stories, I think we can learn a lot from them by doing this. Ideally what we learn from them can be beneficial to our lives and society as a whole. For example, feminist critics repeatedly challenge underlying sexism in the representation of women in literature while also expanding the literary canon to include female writers instead of just your typical rich white men. Something like that is definitely useful especially if you then start applying it to popular contemporary media. Either way, it can be a little dry at times, that's for sure. Reading criticism or theory is definitely not as fun as reading literature but to me bringing theory and literature together is what makes literary studies so interesting. The science part helps us see literature in a new light and then bring our discoveries to paper in a way which makes it understandable and usable for other people. Also the writing part becomes a lot more fun the more you do it. I found it really boring at the start especially when you have to follow a strict structure and have preset topics but once you get more freedom and are able to develop your own style it becomes quite enjoyable.

[@gusriley9785]

So pleased you are loving your courses! And thanks for giving us the progress report as you said you would. I can only echo many of the comments below, - but the poster who pointed out that you are prepared to spend so many hours commuting daily to/from university, and that in itself is a powerful indictor of your passion was spot on - WELL DONE!!!! The fifties American cartoon TV series, Peanuts had a line in one episode from Snoopy the dog character, "How can we lose when we are so sincere?" - there's truth in the question, you can only win in my opinion with that level of commitment :) When you mentioned at the I Love My Courses section and referred to the one dealing with time and memory in modern literature, it put me in mind of a book I read a little while ago, Landscape and Memory by the historian, Simon Schama, - "For although we are accustomed to separate nature and perception into two realms', writes Schama, 'they are in fact indivisible. Before it can ever be a response for the sense, landscape is the work of the mind. Its scenery is built up as much from strata of memory as from layers of rock.' That book fascinated me, and as tends to happen kickstarts my next study project, which was a history of the visual arts, - which in turn as the course began with Palaeolithic Art, after that area led to a study of the origins of human imagination . . . and so it goes :) As a guy who began to draw my State Pension last year and now having all the free time I could want, I love "my courses" ones of my own design and choice, as a lifelong home learner, - I LOVE IT too :) As an aside, my job as a local community advocate involved working with the disabled, - now that is a real education and vocation - but I feel your sadness having to read Maus, - what do we do with this area of life? Wasn't it Ghandi (?) who said "Become the change you want to see in the world" - though some scholars question its accuracy, either way, I have a feeling you will be part of that movement - in fact are a part of it, Peace and - "Keep on Keepin' On" c/o Bob Dylan, - Warm Regards, Gus :)

[@strange.lucidity]

Aww thank you for this lovely comment. How encouraging! ❤ Wonderful, thank you for sharing this book. I'm so fascinated with the topic... Time might honestly be my favourite topic to ponder so I enjoyed reading what's coming up for you. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, Gus. Thank you!

[@gusriley9785]

@@strange.lucidity 🙏

[@gusriley9785]

@@strange.lucidity Thanks for your reply, SL. I won't take much of your time, - (the current topic ;) other than to say you are in good company IMHO, - my namesake, St Augustine grappled with the issue of time and despite his phenomenal mind couldn't articulate his thoughts to his own satisfaction. And didn't Carl Jung say "Psyche does not exist in time and space, space and time exist in psyche", - it's hard to make a strong case against that statement on the terms he used it. Finally, I'm currently wading through a pile of books a guy called Richard Rohr, a Dominican priest and theologian who thinks outside the box, - but related to this issue he made a brilliant point I feel re time, - he turned the historically (within Christianity at any rate) of Sacred Space having perhaps been given too much emphasis at the expense of Sacred Time, - he belongs to the Perennialist school of thought and The Eternal Present is pretty central to his theology and philosophy. I'll leave you consider that thought, - oh another author who has been criminally overlooked is the late Owen Barfield, who's central thesis in a long lifetime, he was 99 I think when he died, and C S Lewis called Barfield "The wisest of his unofficial teachers", but Barfield's main interest was in what he calls the Evolution of Consciousness, which he spent a lifetime exploring via words and literature, - hope he may be of some use when time allows to you and your interests, but if there's a message in any of this, it's that the Artists will always be ahead of the curve over the scientists in areas of human depth and meaning, you are right I believe to be a little wary of the so called "Scientific Method" and it's claims, - I certainly am! Warm Regards, Gus :)

[@tj-wn8ye]

Thank you so much for this thoughtful and compelling video. When I was a teenager decades ago I became obsessed with Solzhenitsyn, Arthur Koestler (Darkness at Noon) and many other of the darker novelists of the 20th century. It could be triggering but it seemed like essential literature through which to make sense of the modern condition. Likewise in America I read James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison and Richard Wright to learn about the African American experience here in the States. I was a Russian language and literature major for 3 years…dropped out and returned later as a much older student graduating with a history degree. I appreciated school much more as an older student. By the way, studying literature “scientifically” seems as absurd to me as studying history scientifically, which used to be a thing. A not so good thing! Anyway, love your channel and I’m looking forward to following your journey. Cheers from Wisconsin, USA.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you so much for sharing all that. Really appreciate your perspective. Much love to you ❤

[@jakealden2517]

I went back to get a degree after years of working and it was more meaningful to me because I chose to be there instead of going because everyone else was going at 18. And, with my work and life experience, the education meant more to me in a variety of ways. As a university professor, I teach literature so that we can learn about human nature. I do not have a political agenda, but many professors do have an agenda.

[@strange.lucidity]

I feel the same way. Oh, now I'm interested what it is you're teaching. Feel like sharing? 🙂

[@readreadofficial]

Great video! Thanks for sharing. It's interesting to compare our experiences; I went to university for music, not literature, but there was still a familiar spectrum of students and teachers, and their ideologies. I also had a similar age gap when I went back to do Honours and found I was 4-5 years older than most of my classmates 😄 Regarding the emphasis on Science and the Scientific Method: Maybe it's not the same thing, but I had a similar conflict with my thesis, where I was studying free jazz and needed to come up with ways to quantify and analyse it with scientific terminology. It was probably the biggest learning curve in my studies, but I ended up landing on the idea that the sort of 'language' a thesis requires is designed to express ideas as clearly as possible, and doesn't attempt to replace the original subject of analysis. For the most 'true' experience, the music was still there, but for a research paper, I just had to cut to the chase and strive for an impartial clarity, because while works of art often stand on their own, research papers are expected to be cited, referenced, expanded upon, refuted, etc. so it's really not intended to be a 'work' in and of itself (but that's just my own two cents). Also, I'm planning on reading Don Quixote before the end of the year, so we might have some overlap in our reading schedule!

[@strange.lucidity]

Thanks a lot for sharing all that. How cool that you studied music. I love the literature-music overlap. Planning to read a book by Thomas Mann soon that is known for describing music in incredible writing... Music that doesn't even exist. Also your love for Jazz reminds me of Benjamin from the Hardcore Literature channel. Do you know him? He loves Jazz and literature too 🙂 Anyways, yeah I'm curious where this route with science will go. I'll keep you posted. Really enjoyed reading your experience ❤

[@milenarezaee9537]

I like your videos; glad it was on my suggestions. Followed you right away, and looking forword to see more videos from you. Thank you!

[@strange.lucidity]

Oh thanks for the kind comment ❤

[@robertmueller2023]

My old mentor: "Genius can't be taught".

[@hollyc4624]

Thank you for sharing your experiences, good and bad. As emotional as Maus is, I would think that the impact would be even greater if close to where events actually occurred. Hang in there. My only recommendation is to try to realize that experiencing (through reading and classroom discussions) the tough topics will force you to consider more aspects of the topics or events. Try to force yourself to think through why the events happened, what made people vulnerable to the authoritarianism. It isn’t an easy process but will help you grow as a person. ❤

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you ❤

[@filipsmit5497]

I find it wonderful to see how you feel your way into your life, literature and science. And yes, science may lack the emotional depth of meaning that one can experience in Existenz and literature, and that can be disappointing for those who are true Seekers. I guess there are three antidotes. First, live your life authentically - as I see you do. Second, write (prose, poetry) - do you? Third, try to re-read literature (and your own life) through the lens of existential phenomenology (specifically philosophers like Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty) - certainly not an easy route, but revealing a depth in life and the arts that cannot be matched by science. Wishing you good journey ~ Filip

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you Filip. I resonate a lot with what you're sharing. I think I try to live along those lines and it really pays off for me... Authenticity, writing, reading, education, spirituality... And staying away from mainstream media is definitely a big one for me too. That's the good life for me. Hope you're well and thanks again ❤

[@mmedoe]

vienna is so beautiful. :) ((are you aware that starting from your borges video there is a slight humming noise in the background? not dramatic but rather distracting and more pleasurable to listen to you without it.))

[@strange.lucidity]

Yes, thank you. I'm trying to figure out what happened but I'm not the best with technology...

[@martindurkin8837]

I would love to be back in university those were the best years of my life. Make the most of them my dear.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thanks!!

[@cerdic6586]

Good luck with your studies! I think that people would understand each other better if literature was more widely (and deeply) read. It is a wonderful training exercise of cognitive empathy.

[@strange.lucidity]

Wonderfully said. I agree 🙏

[@davidpardocossio8995]

Congrats! I hope to be able to do same within, in my case after 20 years without literary studies... Would you mind to list the readings if that course on time and memory? It sounds soo interesting.

[@doctorfaustxvi]

Thanks for sharing your experience, lately I've been thinking about whether modern academia is worth pursuing so this certainly helps put things into perspective. On a different note, do you have a goodreads account?

[@strange.lucidity]

Thanks for your comment ❤ I don't have one no

[@sfrancies87]

Love this video! Your course on time and memory in literature sounds so interesting. I don't suppose you would be able to share your reading list please?

[@strange.lucidity]

It will be in the video tomorrow 😊

[@shweta1401]

I feel really glad when people actually enjoy what they are studying, so happy for you! Yes some themes can be heavier for us but it only means we actually care and are only human... and oh my gosh, your University is so breathtakingly beautiful. I'm 28 too and recently out of law school. I can totally relate with what you're saying about having younger classmates, most of my peers were 3-4 years younger than me. Some were 10 years or so older. However it never made my law school experience anyhow negative. In fact I feel like it was enriching to some extent to have different age groups in my classes. You get to know different perspectives! So yeah.... All the best with everything, and can't wait for the next video.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thank you for this lovely comment ❤ Aww. Everyone here is so sweet!

[@yolandasilverio1205]

Lovely video. I am about to start "In Search of Lost Time" by Marcel Proust. It will be a gift for my 70th birthday...

[@strange.lucidity]

Oh lovely. You're in for a treat. ❤

[@graybow2255]

Good luck in your studies! Having intrinsic motivation is essential. I'm Syrian, currently doing a PhD in English literature, but I'm equally interested in world literature. I wonder if you've read anything by Heimito von Doderer.

[@strange.lucidity]

Lovely! Yes, we're reading him at the moment in my "time and memory in modern literature" course. 🙂

[@sublimeister9630]

Before or during your reading of all these literatures, listen to Terrence Mckenna on Language, then Alan Watts and finally OSHO. 👍

[@saramilijic]

could you make a video about how you got into UniWien, the entrance exams etc

[@elliesar6960]

I just started my Master’s degree in English Literature in a university that I always loved. I really felt what you were saying, but I have some concerns on my mind. First of all, I could not go to this university free, I had to pay money for it because my mark wasn’t bad but it was not the best either, so I’m constantly comparing myself to the ones who got in free and that makes me a little bit self conscious; even though my BA major was different from them and I was not as knowledgeable as them in the first place, but I just wanted to study what i always loved. Secondly, I also work most of the week and I’m afraid I would get burnt out soon😢

[@azfarsyed7082]

Litarature a great subject to deal with human, s feelings delights delicates soft hearts desires etc

[@D.N..]

Hello from New York City! You mention you will read about "Colonialism in The Low Countries" What are considered the Low Countries? Do you drive 2 hours every day to school ? I hope you become friends with the person you met because it will be interesting and add a lot to your college experience!

[@strange.lucidity]

Hi, the low countries constitute The Netherlands and Belgium :-) Greetings back to NY! yey.

[@Life_Of_Mine_]

When will the spring semester admission open in your university? If I got admitted, would you like to have a cup of coffee with a philosophy student?

[@strange.lucidity]

Of course I'd have a cup of coffee yeah! I'm not sure, I'd guess from November on? I'd just check the website.

[@weenyboyscott6222]

I am not currently a Student, yet I read at least 200pp /day of some book or other ranging from fantasy and SciFi to Military History to Classics, Poetry, Shakespeare and much literary criticism. Do u ever find yourself kinda "zombie reading" passages and feel you need to revisit sections? Do you see this as normal, and do you or any of you guys out there have anything to say on this or any advice to give on this happenstance please?

[@darrylmockridge]

There are things in this world which we can do something about, and things about which we can do nothing. It's pretty much that simple, kid.

[@Life_Of_Mine_]

Btw, i wanted to ask you, do you study Nietzsche as a literature major?

[@strange.lucidity]

Yes, he's mentioned a lot and I had to read excerpts already. No whole books yet but I'm sure that will come!

[@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk]

When you are at University you come across lots of different opinions and ways of looking at the world. Personally I think that you should retain a core of your personality that is untouched by all that, otherwise, you are not you. As it says in Hagakure, If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all Ways and be more and more in accord with his own. Best wishes to you.

[@turntablesrockmyworld9315]

My friend is switch majors in her second year because all her literature courses are mostly SJW drivel. For example, she hasn't even studied Shakespeare yet but was made to take a feminist critique of Shakespeare first. And during their study of American Literature course, they were only allowed to use a censored edition of Huckleberry Finn. They also readily disparage the Western Canon books and authors and most of the talk is about patriarchy and diversity. I leafed through a few of the required readings and texts. Terrible stuff.

[@strange.lucidity]

Oh wow. Interesting...

[@richardlee4730]

Good to hear that your literature classes don't seem to be political. Probably these professors all have their own books or papers published so you can get an idea of whether they have a political axe to grind or not. In the US most of the "good" schools are very political in most fields of study. You really have to do your homework to find the least politically-oriented teachers. I was lucky that way for the most part. Had excellent teachers with mostly just brief, obligatory "lip service" to the "politically correct" line of thinking. But whenver I hear the word "colonial" now, my ears prick up because it is usually used to represnt an anti-colonial view, whereas, if these lit teachers had studied history, they would learn a more honest and balanced view of colonialism (of course some colonizers were worse than others and the Germans colonial period was brief and positive for the most part). You have a long commute, hopefully you're taking a train so you can study along the way. The university was founded in 1365 and looks wonderful. What a joy it must be just to be on the campus and in this great city. In the states, university is expensive and although I studied literature, I wouldn't recommend it now unless you're wealthy or going on to get a Masters or PhD so that the cost of the degree ends up being worth the money. I understand that in Europe, public universities tend to be free or inexpensive, which is great. I hope that's still true. Nice to hear you're enjoying your experience. I assume you'll want to teach. You would seem to be a natural for it. Good luck.

[@strange.lucidity]

Thanks for sharing all that. I hope to get by in the way you described to be honest. "Lip service" and then moving on to other things... :-) I think there should be way. As I said, not too bad so far. The fact that university is so expensive in the USA is really shocking to Europeans. To me, it doesn't make any sense. Education should be encouraged as much as possible... I'm very lucky to get paid to go to university. I worked for some years, am under 35 and don't have a university degree yet. So I get paid quite nicely to do it. I feel truly lucky to live in Austria in that regard. Thank you for this comment and for thinking I could teach. I never considered it. I always felt too introverted to do so. I don't like entertaining people or interacting with them too much. But I guess teaching can be done in many different ways. I consider my videos a training ground. All the best to you ❤

[@vansf3433]

What you guys actually do when studying literature is echoing famous writers, especially when quoting their subjetive statements in your essays, and dissertations. When you are doing a research, you basically try to find authors and borrow their works to validate your own writing, instead of expressing your mind independently without any need of any well-established writer. It's a malpractice to require students to borrow well-:known writers' words, books, articles and names to prove their writing valid because that's not any way to teach students how to think and to create values of the art of writing independently and creatively, and it blocks students' creativeness. You will basically parrot well-known writers until you reach PhD level. It can be said that creative writing is one of the easiest professions because all what you need to do is to play with words , and wild imagination in different ways

[@vansf3433]

Literature indeed has become politicized, or a sort of political instrument for political parties' propagandas and fanatical agenda. The biggest problem in social science, including art is subjective interpretations, and whenever there are different interpretations of the same thing, none of them has any validity because they are all merely subjective beliefs or personal narrow points of view,mbasedvon preconceived frames of reference. Literary writing is also a form of art.. But this form of art can very easily become a source of distort facts or misleading information

[@kanwaljotsingh1699]

What do you mean by “thinking in a nuanced way about colonialism” « showing both sides of history ?”»

[@mynameissiddharth]

If you are single, the colleges and universities are perfect places to look for a partner.