Figuring out a literature curriculum
There are lots of things I want to learn and I try to be a bit organised about it. I like a project. This might be too much of a project! I've done similar stuff before but this is a whole other scale.
When I've done this before it's been like, romanticism. Which is obviously a huge thing but I'm not trying to do it all, I'm trying to hit some important, representative bits. I cast about for some recommendations and made a list. Non-fiction, fiction, art, music. It was a fun time. And it's not over - it's never over - but it's not a focus right now.
'Literature' is the biggest thing. So an important part of the project is figuring out the project, prepping the project. Why even organise it? Why not just do it? Because I fear I am a flibbertigibbet and also I get easily overwhelmed. I need structure or I'm just wisping all over the place.
First, defining some of my reasons and intentions and such.
- I like books. I want to read as many good books as possible.
- I like history. Books are history, and history is in books.
- I want to better understand influences and contexts and such.
- I want to better understand literature as a whole.
Something I want to focus on is non-Western literature. I did ancient and mediæval history so I've done some of the 'traditional' 'classics'. I'll do them again but I want to do more than just that.
Some starting resources: Great English Literature syllabus is useful because it's explicitly a self-directed curriculum and it's not just a list - it's the how and the why. The Great Books curriculum from St John's college is sort of the gold standard it seems? It's a lot. Also I'm very much incorporating A non-Western canon: What would a list of humanity's 100 greatest writers look like?. The Hardcore Literature youtube channel has a lot of 'how to read this book'.
There's going to be non-fiction too. I'd like to read philosophy, and science. The thing I realised about earlier science writing is that for all its massive influence it's actually much more accessible than one would think. It wasn't written just for other academics.
On the non-fiction side also, most of these lists are just the books themselves. (There are a few 'companion reads' listed in the first link, though they are warned against.) I can't do that. I need a 'how to read' and someone to tell me about the book, about the author, about the context, about the time. So this all needs to be heavily supplemented. My Brontë reading list (ongoing) has the eight of their books (and poetry collection), four non-fiction books about them, and a fiction book not by them. If I go at a 2:1 ratio of the literature to 'about the literature'... that's a lot more reading.
Also, it's not just reading. I have and will continue to use courses, videos, podcasts and such. There are so many sites and blogs and videos and Substacks and book clubs that it's actually kind of overwhelming in itself. It'll probably also be supplemented with music and art from the period. An art history curriculum is a whole other thing.
The final thing I'm trying to bear in mind is this is absolutely not even a marathon in the sprint/marathon dichotomy. In that analogy it's all the walking and moving I'm ever going to do in my life. Plus I'm still going to be reading all sorts of other books. For fun and for various enthusiasms.
I'd like to do a lot of this as a 'learning in public' type thing and keep my notes here on the site. If anyone is also doing similar stuff or has resources or tips or ideas than I'd very much like to hear from you.