Novels open doors

As an English major, I enjoyed last weeks readings and how they linked the appreciation of Literature (which seems so undervalued these days) to better overall citizenship. Part of the reason that I switched from Biochemistry to English my sophomore year was precisely that interest in seeing things from alternative perspectives. I originally enjoyed science for similar reasons, being able to look at things from the viewpoints of physics, chemistry, biology, neurology, ecology, etc., helps one develop an appreciation for the complexity of the universe. However as my study of science progressed into college, when science took on a much more technical aspect, my interest slowly faded and moved into English. I must admit I always hated English growing up, and it wasn't until my Junior year of high school that I first enjoyed a work of literature. I didn't get a chance to mention it in class, but Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" was the first book that really moved me and opened my mind up to other ways of thinking. For those unfamiliar about the work, it is a novel of early feminist literature, that portrays the life of a woman in the conservative, Creole deep south. It was the firs book I ever underlined in and it has strongly influenced the way I looked at everything since. I have since been moved by many other things that I have read, though I am personally not as great a fan of novels as Nussbaum appears to be. I personally like poetry much better, especially in conveying alternative perspectives, because it must be engaged much more actively and therefore challenges the mind more, but that is just my two cents.