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NTU English Literature Graduate
Click to Question
Name:Janelle
Course + Year:NTU English Literature, Graduate
- What subjects did you take in JC/Poly, and did it play a part in shaping your Uni course decision?
- Which courses were you considering between? Which universities were you considering for this course? What eventually made you choose this course at this university? (General Thought Process)
- As students fresh out of JC/Poly, how can we guide/advise our juniors in making the decision that feels the most right to them?
- Can you give me a brief overview about what the study of Literature at NTU is about?
- What’s your course structure like? Can you give me a brief summary of the modules and the content from Y1-Y4 (some concepts in your course etc)
- Why did you choose to do an internship in Comms? Is it common for Eng Lit students to go to this path?
- How is a day in the life of a NTU English Literature student like?
- Are there many chances for interdisciplinary learning/to meet people outside of NTU English Literature?
- How does learning and the exams at NTU English Literature compare to that in JC/Poly?
- What is the teaching style like? What is the grading system (weightage, terms/semesters, structure for each academic year) and examination style like?
- What’s the format of your exams like? (is it a lot of essay writing, etc.)
- How are exam questions like?
- How heavy is your workload? How much leisure time do you have out of school?
- What is the learning style like at NTU Eng Lit?
Personal Preferences and the Course
- What expectations did you have about NTU English Literature before you entered? Which ones were met and which ones failed?
- What do you like & dislike most about the course?
- What has been your favourite class so far? Which was the most interesting/least module topic?
- Are there any common misconceptions about your course that you would like to debunk?
- Do many English lit students become writers?
- In your opinion, is there any particular type of student that would thrive in this university/that is most suited for this course?
- What will the career prospects be like by the time you graduate? Where do NTU English Literature graduates usually go?
- Were you afraid that you would have a hard time finding a job by majoring in Eng Lit?
- What do you plan to do after you graduate? How can you advise fresh-grads of Eng Lit?
- What extracurricular activities does NTU English Literature offer, and which do you take part in?
- What is your accommodation like? Do you live on-campus or off-campus, and what is the experience like?
- What is the general culture like at NTU English Literature? How would you describe the people there as?
- Any last advice for juniors who wish to study English Literature at NTU in the future? What advice would you have given your younger self?
- From an English Lit Major POV, what are some books can you recommend to people who enjoy reading?
1. DECISION MAKING
What subjects did you take in JC/Poly, and did it play a part in shaping your Uni course decision?
I was from the JC track and I took H2 Econs, Math, and English Literature, as well as H1 History.Â
Yes, in a way, it did shape my uni course decision. English Literature was my best (and favourite) subject in JC! I didn’t do very well for A Levels and didn’t have many choices, hence I decided to go with English Literature at NTU because it was something I thought I was good at (based on my JC results), and the cut-off point to enter was relatively low for my year.
Which courses were you considering between? Which universities were you considering for this course? What eventually made you choose this course at this university? (General Thought Process)
The main factor that I considered when making an informed decision was my proficiency in the subject. Thus, I was deciding between English Literature and History, because I was good at these 2 subjects in JC. I tried to enter NUS FASS, but didn’t make it because my rank points were relatively low. Hence, I ended up in NTU HSS, because English was relatively easier to enter than History.Â
As students fresh out of JC/Poly, how can we guide/advise our juniors in making the decision that feels the most right to them?
I think it is important to choose a course that you know you’ll be good at, as well as enjoy studying. Especially for the humanities track, GPA is considerably important when it comes to applying for jobs in the civil sector.Â
2. COURSE CONTENT
Can you give me a brief overview about what the study of Literature at NTU is about?
Basically it is a humanities course, it’s a lot like art appreciation, but instead of art you learn how to appreciate text. In JC while text is very much limited to just poetry/prose, In Uni, text can be medical literature such as medical journals or even include films, new articles etc. There is a very broad spectrum of how you define texts when it comes to the study of Lit.
What we do is we study these texts in relation to the social period of the time that it was being written and our own social period. We apply the learnings from the text during that social period to our own time period. It is very difficult to explain, because ultimately it is just the study of text but… how do I put it? If you want to look at it in a broader sense, it is a lot of studying and learning about the human condition through text. Human condition such as suffering through a certain period. For example right now we are going through the COVID-19 Pandemic. Someone is going to write about COVID, and someone is going to pick up a book and learn through text about our experiences, how our generation managed to pull through and apply whatever they have learnt to their own time period.
For example, while reading the text during the French Revolution, we learn and see how we can apply knowledge from there. Another example, you read about Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in the past they didn’t really explicitly talk about mental illness but when we read it right now, we see that oh maybe Hamlet may have been suffering from some kind of mental illness now. The reading changes, then you perceive the text differently.
We also learn how to read between the nuances of text, and read for inconsistencies that kinda thing. Basically English Lit is about the appreciation of text. However, the text can be any medium – it varies a lot more at Uni.
It is very much an arts subject. For example in my school, you can major in art history, where you learn about the history of art, different painters and how to appreciate art. Similarly for literature, you learn about the history of literature, famous authors, and how to appreciate text beyond the lines and see it for more. Through the literature lens, you can see the different layers of writings, how they are written during that time period and whether we can bring this relevance into our time period.
What’s your course structure like? Can you give me a brief summary of the modules and the content from Y1-Y4 (some concepts in your course etc.)
My course is quite flexible, we have a large selection of modules we can choose from, and we have a lot of freedom to mix and match our modules. Module topics are also very diverse, with some being rather obscure.Â
List of Modules that I took:
Y1S1
- Introduction to the Study of Literature
- Classical Literature
- Survey of English Literature 1
Y1S2
- Introduction to American Literature
- Survey of English Literature 2
- Singapore Literature & Culture 1
Y2S1
- Approaches to Literature
- Directed Study
- Sensibility and Romanticism
- Modernism
Y2S2
- Reading Drama
- Restoration & Eighteenth Century Literature
Y3S1
- Film Theory
- Literature & Medicine
Y3S2
- On Exchange Programme
- Took Advanced American Literature and Feminist Studies
Y4S1
- Asian Historical Fiction
- Scottish Literature
- Film, Politics & Ethics
- Final Year Project
Y4S2
- Internship
Internship
Right now I am on my internship. I started it in Jan 2020. This means that during Y4S2 I was doing my internship and Final Year Project (FYP) together. I had to get the approval from NTU to do this “double track” because the school is usually pretty strict about letting students do their FYP and Internship together, but thankfully I managed to get clearance for it. Since January, I have been interning at Temasek Holdings doing Comms – which is very different from Literature. It is very hard to find an internship/career relevant to Literature unless you are going into the education track/going to be an author because the degree is too generic.Â
English Lit is too generic of a degree and not specialised, hence it is very difficult to find a job with Eng Lit (unless you are going to be an author).
Why did you choose to do an internship in Comms? Is it common for Eng Lit students to go to this path?
It was a very practical approach, a lot of people from Eng Lit end up going to comms. According to a career book (I think) surveys have shown that most Eng LIt students eventually end up going into marketing/comms track. Why we do these tracks are for very practical reasons.
We are in Eng Lit, hence we possess a certain level of language proficiency which is a must in careers in Comms. Although there are some that may argue that Eng Lit students lack the basic comms training, we are actually able to offer fresher insights with our Eng Lit background. . In addition, a lot of Eng Lit students minor in creative writing as well – hence, we are able to offer that creative edge when it comes to Comms.
For me, I did not minor in creative writing, but how I decided on Comms was a very practical approach. My very first internship was as an editorial intern at a Media industry but I realised that I did not like it and did not want to become a journalist. My second job was PR, I only got the job because they felt that my role as an editorial intern could value-add to being a PR Intern. I spent quite a bit of time at that intern company, hence naturally I got the position to work in the Comms department at Temasek. It all happened very unknowingly for me but for many others Comms is something more intuitive to enter, due to our language proficiency and how we can offer more of a “creative edge”.
How is a day in the life of a NTU English Literature student like?
Rather casual. Usually you’ll have to read your text/watch your film beforehand so that you can participate during class discussions.Â
Right before classes, I typically run through a summary of key themes for the text – either through my notes or via websites such as Shmoop or Sparknotes. These are helpful in recapping the entire text. With so many texts to read every week, it’s quite difficult to recall key themes or plot details, which are important for class discussions.Â
In class, I usually pen down notes I think are important, maybe key quotes or observations brought up by my course mates or professor. After class, I’ll make notes by summarising content onto a Google doc!
Are there many chances for interdisciplinary learning/to meet people outside of NTU English Literature?
Yes, definitely. There are a lot of interdisciplinary modules in English Literature, because anything can be read as a text and thus interpreted and studied, e.g. political manifestos, medical journals, news articles, documentaries, films, etc.Â
I’ve taken a mod called Literature & Medicine where we studied medical journals, medical literature, biographies and first person accounts of patients, documentaries, interviews, fiction about illnesses or portraying illnesses.Â
At NTU we have this thing called GERPES, where every student has to clear 5 modules and of these 5 modules, they have to fulfill 3 categories – liberal arts, science and tech and business. The other 2 modules can be repeated from within these 3 categories. Lit falls under liberal arts, and since GERPES is compulsory for all NTU students, some students from other courses will take up modules in English Lit. But from my experience, I wouldn’t say students dare to take up modules from Lit because they think that one has to have a very good command of english to do well in Eng Lit.Â
However there are some mods that are rather popular, for example the study of utopia and dystopia. In that module, you watch films that display utopia and dystopian settings and write an essay about it. Since it is mainly films (Sci – Fi etc), a lot of students are inclined to take up this mod. For this mod, there were alot of other students, but mainly from Humanities/Social Sciences. Due to the existence of this GERPE Programme, there definitely will be students from other courses taking up Eng Lit.
3. TEACHING CURRICULUM
How does learning and the exams at NTU English Literature compare to that in JC/Poly?
It is a lot more enjoyable for me because I get to choose my modules, and hence am able to choose topics which I am interested in. JC Eng Lit is a lot more book/poetry/prose focused, whereas in university, Eng Lit is a lot more broad and encompasses a lot more types of mediums, such as films. Anything can be read as a text in Uni.
In JC, it was a lot more structured, it was slightly more flexible compared to sec school but there was a fixed way of writing essays like Point, Explain, Examples, Link. But in Uni it’s a lot more about writing style, flair. The definition of text is also a lot broader – films, journals and news articles etc, anything can be read as a text. In a way in Uni, writing felt a lot more easier and fluid, instead of being confined to the structure of writing answers. In JC, you also kind of know what your teacher wants and cater to what they want to read, but in Uni it’s very flexible due to the generic prompts. Ultimately its the freedom and flexibility that comes with an Uni Eng Lit degree.
As you go further up, English lit gets very flexible. You have more freedom to write about whatever you want, but this also means that you can veer very far from what the profs want to read. Though profs claim that they have an open mind, sometimes the essay may just be very different from what they want to read.
What is the teaching style like? What is the grading system (weightage, terms/semesters, structure for each academic year) and examination style like?
The teaching style really depends on the professors themselves. Some prefer alecture style where they show slides and lecture; others prefer seminar stylewhere they merely prepare speaking points and the class is mainly a roundtable discussion between professor and students. Class Participation is graded, but very honestly no one really speaks up. You would think Eng Lit students are vocal but no. To be very honest, people are generally very quiet in class.
However, there are some topics where a particular group of students are very passionate about. For example, Sexuality/Race but our modules are not just confined to these topics. If it is a more generic module, you can expect people to be more quiet in class, or unless they read more about it/are very passionate about it – even though class part is about 5-10% of overall grade.
Grading system depends on the module as well, but typically it’s 50% assignments, 50% examination. Examination style is usually a 2.5h paper where students have to write about 2 essays, and these exams are usually closed book. Assignments are usually taken home graded homework, eg 5k word essay so these are open books. Class tests are rare, most Eng Lit profs would ask for essays (1-2) in the middle of the semester, depending on how rigorous the module is, and there would be a closed book exam at the end of semester. I only had 1-2 mods that were closed books, but it didn’t really matter to me, because usually exams would require you to write 2-3 essays in 2.5h so you won’t really have time to refer to books anyway.
What’s the format of your exams like? (is it a lot of essay writing, etc.)
Our exams mainly consist of essay writing. Some exams have short-answer questions in which they test you facts/basic analysis of your texts.
How are exam questions like?
Eng Lit is a very very flexible course, there are profs that don’t even propose a topic, you can write anything you want. Some profs do give prompts, like they suggest some questions you can answer in relation to the text, but even so, even with the 7 prompt questions, they would always have a question 8 where you can write about whatever you want.
At the end of the day, your prof doesn’t want to read something that sounds exactly the same as someone else, they want varying ideas, something that piques their interest. Even if they give prompts, these prompts are usually very non-specific. Thus, our essays are really very flexible.
How heavy is your workload? How much leisure time do you have out of school?
I honestly don’t think the workload is very heavy, but that could be because I don’t really keep up with my readings, so I have quite a fair bit of leisure time out of school.
For context, I am really not the best student because I can always find a way to study for exams one week beforehand. I always could find some type of summary and fluff my way through. Our workload is generally not as heavy compared to other courses, not trying to say that it is not heavy – but the attitudes of Eng Lit students are not the most hardworking. Definitely, there would be students who read every text religiously before class but it’s very rare to find people who read every text before class. Most students quickly google a summary online or would read ahead the first few weeks of class but get very tired and stop doing that.
Workload wise, it is very dependent on the module. A good indication of any Uni module. In NTU, it is based on the number of credits. Most mods at NTU have about 3 credits, and the heavier mods have about 4 credits. At the end of 4 years, one must clear 126 credits.Â
This gives you a good indication of the workload of the module, e.g. 3 credits means 3 hours of classes every week/2h seminar + 1 hour lecture and 3 hours beyond school studying for it. But this is a very generic way to look at it. But it really differs for every module.Â
For example, I like to take film mods, I take 2 hour to watch the film and read my text. Compare this to people who enjoy reading, they would take 1-2 days reading the book and thus take longer.
What is the learning style like at NTU Eng Lit?
Year 1 and 2
When you first join Uni, most of the lessons you take are compulsory introductory modules. It is like what you do in JC but a bit more advanced (to even the playing field for those who did not take Eng Lit). Then you have lessons like Medieval lit to Romance lit and Renaissance lit, so you kind of get what every time period is like, the different styles of writing then and the societal influences. You would be exposed to lessons like intro to american/singapore lit. These fixed mods are usually held in fixed tutorial groups ; random allocation of Y1 tutorial groups.
Intro mods are usually lecture style – 2h lecture, 1h tutorial every week. You would have to pre-read lesson materials for lectures, then during lectures the prof would go through key quotations, time period, author etc. Tutorials are more interactive, you have Teaching Assistants who facilitate more discussions. Any queries can be cleared with these TAs.
Year 3 and 4
It gets more flexible, this is reflected in the modules that are being offered. A lot of courses require students to take fixed modules. But for us, after the fixed mods, you can take any mods you want from about 5-6 different categories, and within each category there are about 10-20 diff modules being offered. For every module the teaching style is very different based on prof eg. lecture/tutorial/seminar style.Â
Seminars are usually 3-4 hours, where you sit in a room and the prof will teach a bit of the lecture before there is open table discussion.
Tutorials are usually facilitated by TA, while seminars are directed by profs themselves. For most seminars, you can expect the prof to be there.
4. PERSONAL PREFERENCES AND THE COURSE
What expectations did you have about NTU English Literature before you entered? Which ones were met and which ones failed?
I thought it would be a lot more seminar-like for every class. But for Year 1 students, classes are mostly lecture and tutorial style. Seminar style classes are more common for students Year 2 and above.Â
I was also under the impression that Eng Lit students are very vocal and participate a lot in class – that is not true. Most Eng Lit students (at least in NTU) are very shy, including myself.Â
What do you like & dislike most about the course?
I like that the course is flexible – there are a lot of modules I can mix and match with. But I didn’t like how the course doesn’t open many career paths as it is not specialised (unlike engineering/business etc).
What has been your favourite class so far? Which was the most interesting/least module topic?
One of the more interesting modules I’ve taken is “Directed Study” which examines how toxic masculinities are produced as state, capitalist, and patriarchal formations in the comparative contexts of Singapore, the U.S., and their constitutive diasporas. The most interesting class was probably when we had a class trip to watch a play, Fun Home, which featured gay characters. It was interesting to see how such characters are being portrayed in the theatre scene in Singapore.
This was a very interesting class as it was being taught by visiting professors from the US. For NTU, almost every semester there would be a visiting prof who will visit and teach a special module. For that year, I took this module titled Directed Study. It is about gender, toxic masculinity, and the way it was conducted was very liberal. In Lit, we discussed a lot of taboo topics but he was able to bring it a bit more in-depth mainly because I think that he is very Americanized (thus more liberal).Â
Unlike other mods where the first class would be generally more boring, this prof printed out essays for us to read. We had to read about how gender is being defined, which meant that we had to read up on literary writings and research papers that defined what it means to be a male/female in the very first class. Thus, we had to learn the differences between sex, gender and sexuality – all these are very different terms, and also what toxic masculity means. It was really a lot of reading up on theories and articles to understand how gender, masculinity, femininity, sexuality, toxic masculinity, etc. are all defined.
My least favourite module is “Approaches to Literature”. I think that this is everyone’s least favourite module, it is all about literary theories which are very text heavy, and a lot of heavy reading. Sometimes the theories are very hard to grasp as they can get very philosophical. The thing about literary theory is they like to write in a way that is very inaccessible to us, there is no such thing as a simplified version of the essay. Thus, it was very difficult because we had to read multiple essays every week, and pick out essays and find how to apply them to the texts we were reading in Eng Lit.Â
This means that we would have to have a good understanding about what the essays are about, and use it to apply the lenses when we read the text. For me this was quite difficult as I hate reading to be honest. I can’t stand reading long essays, hence it was also quite boring. Secondly, most of these essays are also written in a way that it is very inaccessible and difficult to read. Many of us couldn’t really understand what the essays were about yet we were expected to apply them. Thus, a lot of us didn’t do well, and it was my least performing module.
Are there any common misconceptions about your course that you would like to debunk?
Most people assume that Eng Lit is easy and just fluffing. However, a lot of research is actually done for every assignment – alongside frequently reading texts and drafting papers. Â
Do many English lit students become writers?
No, it is very difficult to become a writer in Singapore. Firstly, it is not recognised as a profession and secondly, the industry is not big enough. Lastly, how many people actually read Eng Lit? It is not a very sustainable career path for many. So no, a lot of people don’t become writers. There are quite a few that dabble in writing, most of them with a minor in creative writing – but generally these students dabble in it [writing] here and there but not as a full-time career. It is just not very sustainable. There is not much appreciation for Singaporean literature in general.
But definitely, attitudes towards Eng Lit in Singapore are increasingly more popular as it garners more attention. But it is still not enough, so at least for my generation being a writer is just not sustainable.Â
In your opinion, is there any particular type of student that would thrive in this university/that is most suited for this course?
I think that an open-minded individual would thrive. We discuss very controversial issues in Eng Lit, such as race, gender, sex, etc – they are so common that it is always being brought up. You definitely have to be open-minded to discuss these issues, regardless of whichever societal context you are looking at, these perennial issues plague different societal contexts. For example, in the mod Intro to American Literature, we had to study about Black Americans, and topics like slavery are very uncomfortable to discuss, especially you are reading books written by racists. While uncomfortable, we had to still understand why certain behaviours were accepted during that time period. Usually, the prof would show snippets showing slavery/discrimination. You have to be very open-minded to understand why things like these were normal at that time, even though it is very grotesque and uncomfortable to us.Â
Another level of open-mindedness is knowing that it is wrong and these POV are outdated, but still being able to openly discuss these issues. For example, race tensions in Singapore – everyone has different opinions on it. In order to have a civil discussion, everyone has to be open-minded especially when you study a Singapore Lit module.
For example, a Chinese male Singaporean’s view would have a different view on racism than someone from a minority race. These two individuals then have to be open-minded to have discussions on racism which happens a lot in seminars. Hence, someone who is open-minded would thrive since they can see from different POVs and come up with their own conclusion on how to perceive the text.Â
And someone who reads religiously I guess – the hardworking type would thrive. However, there are also a lot of students who study hard but don’t necessarily do as well. You may study hard but if your writing style is very rigid and you don’t have a certain flair that the prof appreciates, you may not do as well.Â
5. CAREER PROSPECTS
What will the career prospects be like by the time you graduate? Where do NTU English Literature graduates usually go?
It’s quite bad, especially with the current pandemic.
I think most English Lit students end up becoming civil servants – either as teachers or working at Statutory Boards or ministries. Others become tuition teachers, join the media & advertising industry, or do public relations.
Were you afraid that you would have a hard time finding a job by majoring in Eng Lit?
Definitely, pre- covid it was already very hard for us to find a job, one thing is because we are a very general course, for example, courses like engineering or business are very straightforward and specialised. But for us, it is not as straightforward because not everyone wants to be an educator and for the education sector-wise, they are not hiring as much. Career-wise, it is very difficult to join sectors like comms/marketing, because you would still have to compete with people who majored in these subjects.
So in a sense, when I first wanted to take Lit, all the adults in my family were asking whether it is sustainable, can you even find a career, does it pay well?Those were very legitimate concerns I had then and when I was job searching a while back. Career prospects are definitely lower compared to other courses, but with that being said, I think that a lot more employers right now are very open-minded and they don’t necessarily care about the [type of] degree and where it is coming from.
Generally, employers don’t ask for specific courses anymore, this means that people like us have greater access to other jobs. Also, I feel that there is a growing recognition for arts/humanities-based courses. Especially since we are living in such a chaotic world – for example during COVID-19, there is a larger appreciation for humanities-based courses. Hence, in a sense, it may be easier to find a job but in general, it is still hard to find a job with an Eng Lit degree.Â
What do you plan to do after you graduate? How can you advise fresh-grads of Eng Lit?
I plan to work. Currently, I am doing an internship, after this, I am going to start full-time in a start-up where I am doing business development for them.
Job prospects are really not good, despite a growing appreciation for the humanities – so you really need to ramp up on your internships. Every chance you have, you need to do an internship because it is these internships that help you secure a job. If you are unsure what you want to do, go and do a variety of internships so you get an idea of what you want to do and by the end of 4 years hopefully you’ll have an idea of what you want/don’t want to do. In addition, through internships, you can get which may potentially offer you a job. If not, a lot of people will have a hard time finding a job. I really think students need to jump at the opportunity to do an internship!
6. STUDENT LIFE
What extracurricular activities does NTU English Literature offer, and which do you take part in?
NTU Eng Lit specifically, I think there is a club called Epiphany, where they have regular performances and other events such as poetry reading. I know they do performances, poetry slam, performance-based poetry. They also hold events to promote Eng Lit, esp Singapore Lit amongst SG Students. Nearing exam periods, they bring out typewriters to write a poem for you. They also encourage students to write their own prose and poetry which they give out for free, and also take care of welfare (prepare welfare packs).Â
If I’m not wrong, every course has its own club. So for Eng Lit, the club mainly promotes the culture of the course and takes care of the welfare of the students in the course. But I’m not very sure about the details because I’m not part of the club and did not take part in NTU Eng Lit activities.
As a faculty itself, we also have our own clubs. For example, the School of Humanities has a range of clubs that look at humanities, an own club that looks at student welfare, NTU has its own club etc.
However, I didn’t join Epiphany (I joined hall-based CCAs, not NTU Eng Lit activities) and can’t say much but during our Orientation Eng Lit camp, we watched their (Epiphany) performances!
What is your accommodation like? Do you live on-campus or off-campus, and what is the experience like?
I stayed in Hall 4 for about 3 years. Unlike in NUS where you have to be chosen to stay in hall, in NTU, it is random balloting. I stay in Hall 4 – Hall 4 is less toxic compared to other halls and I’ve had quite an enjoyable experience. Eg. Some halls have the “clubbing culture”, some have the “drinking culture”. I lived on campus for the first 3 years of school – it was quite hectic but also very fun. You’ll have to be good at juggling school and social life, as there is a lot of social activity in the hall.Â
In general, hall life is very chaotic but fun, but can be toxic at times because you are living in a very close context with friends and there will be a lot of gossip/backstabbing. However there are some good opportunities for you to find your close friends, I made some of my greatest friends through hall, and they are still some of my greatest support systems even till now. However, I know some people who have had very bad experiences in hall (due to the toxic nature of it). It is a community-based environment, so if you do something that makes you an outcast of that community, it is going to be very difficult for you to live in a hall.Â
Living in a hall is chaotic because imagine living with people who are all studying different courses. Different courses have different deadlines and imagine the intense courses staying with someone in a more lax course like Eng Lit – supper jios/hanging out everyday, it is very chaotic and you always have to balance your priorities.Â
The peer pressure to go for activities can be tiring to a certain extent, because there are so many activities in hall – where they encourage most people to go. If you don’t go for these activities, you are considered a “hall phantom”, and may be somewhat an outcast. Hence, if you have a heavy workload and many other commitments, you may find it hard to live in hall.Â
But that being said, I’ve met many great people through hall who were a wonderful support system for me.Â
Another thing is that halls have competitions, for recreational, games and sports etc, and at the end of every year they will see which halls are the top for these categories. Certain halls get very competitive and students become pressured to join these activities and contribute. In general, my hall is not that competitive but I do know that there are some halls that get very competitive over these games.
Personally, I was in some quite nerdy CCA’s Hahahaha. I was in Scrabble, Boggle, Tennis and Road Relay. In general, people join a lot of CCAs because of that pressure, during hall camp they would ask you to join quite a few CCA’s. For Tennis and Road Relay, they were ways for me to keep fit, for Scrabble and Boggle I really enjoyed them because they are not activities that my hall particularly emphasised on – for example, some halls have specialties at particular CCA’s, they expect you to be at a certain level and do well but for Scrabble and Boggle, this was not the case for me and I did not feel the pressure. Hence, I really enjoyed them.
What is the general culture like at NTU English Literature? How would you describe the people there as?
The people there are very much easy going and laid back, and very open-minded about “controversial” issues such as section 377A etc.Â
Any last advice for juniors who wish to study English Literature at NTU in the future? What advice would you have given your younger self?
Choose it even though job prospects are bad, even though it feels like a very impractical choice, if this is something students feel passionate about, they should join it. A lot of students join Eng Lit because they perceive it as easy to enter – that is true because the cut-off points aren’t very high if you compare it to the other courses. But these students tend to do very badly in school or suffer when they’re studying because they lack the motivation and energy to study for it. I would still choose it, if students are truly passionate about it they should join it.Â
For practical reasons, because GPA is important, so if you think you can do well in it, then go for it – which is why I took up English Lit in Uni (I did well for Eng Lit in JC, and I knew that I would thrive in it amongst all the other courses). In the end, my GPA turned out quite okay, and my GPA is also a big factor in me getting my internship and my job. Hence, if you are passionate about Eng Lit and if you think you will do well in Eng Lit, just go for it!
Another reason is that although job career prospects were not the most practical, I felt that in very intangible terms, I managed to learn a lot of things. I feel like I became a slightly better person out of Eng Lit. We are also discussing things that are so important but not as widely discussed/ taught in other courses. For example, we learn about gender/history/sex issues, philosophy, etc – they are all very important and we tackle these issues all the time. Hence, I feel that my understanding of these important issues is much deeper compared to other students. Thus, the study of Eng Lit made me a more learned person, and enables me to perceive situations better because at the back of my head I have had a lot more context than others (Eng Lit also made me much more open-minded).
In a sense, Eng Lit feels a lot like therapy, because for every class you are just learning a lot more about different issues and becoming a better person out of it 🙂
From an English Lit Major POV, what are some books can you recommend to people who enjoy reading?
Hahaha I’m not the best reader but there were a few books that made me cry, for example:
Books about Colonialism
1. The God of Small Things: This was one of the books I read during my modules. It is about the Caste System in India and how 2 people from different castes were in love but had to go through suffering. It is very sad because it is written from a child’s POV, and the child could barely understand anything. It was very heartbreaking that I cried, and it made me cry because it was frustrating to see from the innocent child’s POV. The author writes it as if it’s alright, but it’s very frustrating that the child has to go through this. It was frustrating because we know such things are so wrong, but they are still so present in India, and it can be a truth for a lot of people there.
2. The Sympathizer: It’s about the Vietnam war and a man who was a double spy for the Vietnam war. It is very heartbreaking because he was trying very hard to find his identity as a French-Viet mix, struggling to find his identity as a Vietnamese man. He was supposedly part of the non-communist Vietnam side, yet he was a spy for Communism Vietnam. Then, when that part of Vietnam lost the Vietnam war and was displaced, he faced another level of racism and where he struggles again.
Books about Racism
1. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin: It was written by a black gay man , so he is actually doubly disfrenchished. It is autobiographical, it is quite sad and heartbreaking. He has a film “I am Not Your Negto”, I think if you want to know more about such important topics, you can turn to James Baldwin because he is brutally honest in his documentaries.Â
2. We also revisited racist books such as “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, a children’s story book in which the language is subtly racist and the N word is used. We read, and analyse why it was okay at that time for a book like this to be published and why it is not accepted now. We also go into discussions like whether a sanitised version be published – should this book be rewritten? But if you sanitise it, will you be erasing certain parts of history? These are some questions we debated out.Â
A lot of books we read are related to suffering – but that is a human condition, thus they can generally be quite sad. These books especially impacted me a lot because they feel very real and I realised that people can really be experiencing these issues. To be given access to such situations are heartbreaking and eye-opening that some things are happening even till today. So as a Lit student, despite knowing these frustrating elements you still have to have open discussions on them.Â
I feel like I have become a slightly better person because I have learnt so much and seen so much through these books, and for me to not do anything feels like I am regressing.
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