English literature degree at 52. Absolutely ridiculous?

[MaliceInWanderland]

I've been thinking about it for a while now and am almost decided on taking the plunge via the OU.

Part time so it'll take approximately 6 years which just makes the whole thing even more ludicrous

I have no qualifications really - a handful of GCSE's and that's it. I've always loved literature though and I'm at a point in my life where I'm looking for a new challenge

I work part time, my children are adults / almost adult and I can certainly spare the 12 or so hours of study a week

But is it just a really big self indulgent ego trip? A waste of time? Not like I could then use the degree (if I even manage to get it!) for anything as I'll be even more ancient than I am already!

Any thoughts would be appreciated

It's called an Open degree. There's a BSc/BA Open and also an MSc/MA Open.

https://www.open.ac.uk/courses/combined-studies/degrees/open-degree-qd

On successfully completing this course, we’ll award you our BA (Honours) Open or our BSc (Honours) Open.

So interesting to hear all your stories

I think one motivator for me would be knowing I have a degree. Just being able to say it.

I never even considered A levels, let alone anything else, due to GCSE results that didn't set the world on fire.

@atticstage thanks. That flexibility could potentially work well

My OU degree is an Open Degree as it was mix and match! I finished it 12 years ago and used it last year to do an English Lit MA at my local uni (I'm in my late 40's). So if you don't need a specific degree it's a way to go to follow your interest.

Also eventually doing English Literature was amazing!

Oh (last post and then I'll get lost), if you're on the fence you could also dip your toe in with OpenLearn to help you decide - lots of their free courses are based on extracts from full degree modules. It can give you a flavour of their teaching style and learning platform. Eg this one:

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/literature/approaching-literature-reading-great-expectations/content-section-0?active-tab=content-tab

If you were on a degree you'd have a module forum and tutor, but the materials themselves are presented in a similar format to OpenLearn.

Go for it! When we dropped my daughter off for her first term at uni I said how much I wished I had gone to uni myself. She encouraged me to look at OU courses and the rest is history! I did an English Language and Literature degree with the Open University and graduated at the age of 54. The sense of achievement is amazing - make sure you go to the graduation ceremony.

@siansattic that's brilliant! Congratulations on that achievement

@atticstage that's really useful. I'm off to check it all out thank you so much

I also disagree that studying English Literature will put you off literature. I loved my English Literature degree and can remember biking home from lectures absolutely buzzing from what I had learned that day. Have been teaching English for 27 years and never tire of exploring ideas in literature. Do it!

@HelloMyNameIsElderSmurf
Could you say which creative writing module it was please?

Not ridiculous at all! I have a friend doing History just now who is older than you. Another friend did a PhD when older than you - took her eight years - so what! I am planning on doing a PhD myself when I am older - can’t take the time just now. Go for it op!

I went back to do an MA (Eng Lit/Creative Writing) at 52. Now 55 and finishing y2 of a PhD. Yep, It’s probably an ego trip (told myself it is positive role modelling for kids doing GCSEs and A Levels), but I don’t care. My self confidence has grown and I’ve made new friends. Go for it - it’ll be fun!

Just to add, I also did an Open Uni degree (graduated with a BSc in Psychology in 2015) when my kids were both under 5: there was a one residential week on that one, but the seminars were held at the local university. It was brilliant fun and I also made loads of lovely older friends who lived fairly local to me (as they all were within commute of the uni). The resources for the OU are excellent and even my DH, who went to Cambridge and had a rather snotty attitude towards OU degrees, was blown away by how hard I had to work and the quality of the materials and teaching at the time. Completely changed his opinion and he seeks out OU/mature grads/mums returning after a career break when recruiting now.

Do it ! 53 is no age..x

Another person saying go for it!
I started an English Lit and Creative Writing degree at the OU last year and just finished my first module, I'm 43.

It is so very interesting. In first year of Arts and Humanities I've learned about literature, philosophy, classics, art and music. I've enjoyed it so much and it's been great for my self esteem. I'm disabled and failed to graduate from uni when I was young, so I feel this has been so valuable in changing how I see myself.

I really hope you try it, I'm sure you'll be glad you did too.

I did it when I was 31... tbh some of the studying does remove some of the "fun" of reading. But I needed to do it to prove that I could.

Seeing as you're not planning on starting for a while, have a look at the reading lists now and start reading the books for enjoyment first. I found it easier to engage with texts that I was familiar with.

The kind of people whose love of reading is ‘killed off’ by a literature degree either didn’t love reading all that much, or struggled with the workload/ systematic nature of of reading required, or simply weren’t able to combine that love with the kind of analysis that’s required in an academic setting.

Only you can tell which you are. Think of your favourite 19thc novel, for example. Does the idea of spending a seminar discussing stuff like its formal elements, how it upholds or questions prevailing Victorian gender norms, its strand of Gothic imagery, its representation of motherhood/social class/ urban spaces/ romantic love etc excite you or the reverse? Ditto with the idea of writing essays on these. How are you with poetry/drama/ experimental work/work written in archaic English?

I’m an academic, and have taught many mature students down the years who have been an utter delight because of their commitment, enthusiasm and extra life experience. I supervised a doctorate where the candidate was over 70 when it was awarded. She was great!

Personally I have found studying literature just made my love for reading bloom.
Studying something you love is very enriching.
It may not be the most career enhancing degree per se, but doing this in your 50's would say a lot about you that an employer might find very attractive.

The great advantage of starting an Eng Lit degree when you are in your 50s is that you have already have read so much. I graduated at the age of 21 and couldn't help reflecting that the handful of mature students on my course were at a massive advantage because of the years of reading they had behind them. It's as if you've already done masses of background reading and now you'll have somewhere to channel all that knowledge. You should absolutely go for it and best of all you'll be doing it for the love of it - there is no better reason.

I say go for it, OP. There are some academic subjects that probably need the sharpness of a young brain, but I think the humanities can actually feel more rewarding when you've got some experience of the emotional landscapes being explored. I read English Lit at university and frequently wince at the things I thought I knew aged 19 and the confidently dramatic statements I made about Love and Death - I'm hoping to do another course at some point, but this time armed with a bit more life experience and wider reading.

They used to do an open degree. It looked fun to select modules that interest you - rather than a prescribed path.

I loved the humanities / Arts - the courses were interesting and opened my eyes to different worlds and cultures.

Do it !

Those 6 years will pass whether you do the degree or not :)

Go for it!

I hope that it is still about books and not pomo lit crit waffle...

Well, postmodernism is a period/approach/set of experimental generic conventions and/or what followed/responded to/ complicated modernism, so if the OP studies modules on 20thc/contemporary lit, she will need to become familiar with the concept. And what she will be learning to do on this degree is literary criticism. If she ‘waffles’, she’s doing it wrong.

@stronglatte I'm 52. Stop putting years on me 

@GreekVases thank you, something to ponder

I will say I am not academic at all. And I haven't read many classics - but I'd like to!

I have perused the module though and it does interest me to learn more about each individual topic so I'm hoping that would be enough to 'hook me in' and keep me there.

@stronglatte err there was supposed to be a laughing emoji after my comment to you!!!! I'm not that sensitive about my age 😀