Stephanie Erwin

"How it Happened that I Became an English Major in the Early Years of the Twenty-First Century"

            I have been a reluctant English major.  Although I have squeezed an English class into every semester, it is only this year that I finally declared English as my second major (International Studies/African Emphasis is my first).  I love English, but I never thought I would be able to do anything  with it.  In this sense, I can understand Bloom's discussion on the decreasing number of English majors.  Because going to college is expensive, there is pressure to pick your studies wisely.  I chose to become an International Studies major because I want to leave this world a little better than it was before I was born.  I think it would be fair to say that I chose to become an English major for much the same reason.  I love the idea that words can impact someone's life.              

             I have many friends who are English majors in schools around the country, and we often compare reading lists.  Because we never seem to be reading the same thing, we have developed an endless "you must read this book" list.  There was a semester of Hesse, a semester of Dostoevsky, and a semester of Hemingway.  Whatever book we are reading, though, it is never an abridged version.  I personally don't think you can truly judge (or enjoy) a book unless you've read the complete work.  However, I suppose that reading the abridged version is better than not reading it at all.  Regarding Bloom's discussion on today's students only studying themselves, I don't think it's fair to say that, for example, African Americans shouldn't be most interested in studying African American literature.  For a long while the majority of college students were white men reading works of white men, and no one ever attacked them for only being willing to learn about themselves.  That being said, I do agree with his belief that university should stretch a student's horizons and teach them to think critically.