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

Thank you all. I've got time to think about it and lots of food for thought here

I took a peek at the history degree as I do love history but ultimately decided against it as I have no desire to learn about Sophocles for example (sorry to any enthusiasts out there)

Im doing a part time degree at the moment. English lit has made up a lot of my modules. I'm 61 and not the youngest on my course by far. One of my tutors has just finished his PhD at the age of 73. Age is no barrier to learning.

Do it, you won't regret it. I started a part time theology degree at 57. I'm nearly three years in and have switched to an MA programme. It's been brilliant.

If you have the financial means for it, why not, OP?

lol exactly… the whole degree is about literary criticism

I started a part-time Arts & Humanities degree with the OU when I was 50 - although my main focus has been English Lit doing an Arts & Humanities degree means that you can study other modules eg art history, philosophy, religion

I’ve just finished my fourth year (2 more to go!) - it has been challenging at times (particularly when assignments are due) but I feel as if I’ve learnt so much and become more interested in arts and culture in a wider sense

I’m also doing it just for myself (hoping to retire soon. I think they say 16-18 hours per week studying for a part-time course - I don’t think I do that many unless I’ve got an assignment to do (usually about 5 per module)

Go for it!

@MaliceInWanderland haha I'm 53 !!! Slip of the finger ! Your post has motivated me to sign up to a course I've been eyeing up for a while .. thank you !

Do it. It sounds really tempting to me also. I'm 54 and thinking of doing a course in pyschogeography

My grandad was still doing courses into his eighties, he was just interested. It worked for him really well

If you have not had student finance before you may be able to apply for a student loan to cover the course fees (depending on where you live)

lol exactly… the whole degree is about literary criticism

Well yes, but at least for a while there they lost sight of the actual literature.

Go for it!

Your first module will look at a variety of subjects, so you'll find out if you love lit or want to do something else. This was one of my favourite modules as I could feel my mind pinging open. I didn't know that 6 weeks of art history would change the way I Iook at art forever.

I did OU lit and it's increased my enjoyment of reading for pleasure. You need to enjoy really digging into details and doing analysis of the texts and professional academics' own analysis and criticism . You are gradually introduced to the skills and techniques. You have to be able to read books you may not actually enjoy and motivate yourself to work on them. Although I managed to write a good paper on Wuthering Heights without fully reading the damn thing!

Those that hate it are (understandably) usually surprised by what it involves. It's not just reading, as someone above suggested, and it's not read a book and write a book review. Or they enjoy reading for plot, but have no interest in themes, characterisation, language, etc etc.

Horses for courses.

I think you'll regret it if you don't try it.

I also understand wanting to feel the achievement of getting a degree. It's taken for granted by a lot of people, but I was one of the first in my large extended family, and it was a massive deal to me.

Hatecleaninglovecleanhouse I threw my copy of Wuthering Heights in the bin after doing my assignment (it was falling apart!) - I still got a decent mark for it

To be honest, I still think that some literary criticism is a load of waffley wank, but I played the game with that. Particularly on the Children's lit module. A lot of the critical material was incomprehensible and oddly obsessed with sexual imagery. But I loved elements of that module too - who'd have thought there was so much to picture books?

I'm always surprised by people doing a degree for pleasure, as I don't find study pleasurable at all. If you haven't studied since school, try some of the short courses first to see if you like it.

Remember, it's not just reading, but writing essays too. Do you want to spend your free time writing 3000 word essays deconstructing what you've read?

And if you haven't read many classics before, why not? If you were keen on English literature surely you would have done?

Not wanting to put you off too much, but a lot of degrees are very dry compared to say watching a documentary or video on the subject of interest.

I threw my copy of Wuthering Heights in the bin after doing my assignment (it was falling apart!) - I still got a decent mark for it

I did the same with DH Lawrence's The Rainbow.

For me it was everything written by Yeats. Sorry, but pretty much everything he write - not just the lit crit written about him - is pretentious waffle [being polite]. Hate literature which sets out to be exclusive so that only readers ‘who are in the know’ can make head or tail of it.

I'm about to finish a PT degree I've been doing with the OU. It's been a great experience, for the most part, and I've learned so much! I did a degree in something that I had no background in whatsoever and it really doesn't matter, as long as you have the time and, more importantly, the interest in the subject to push through when you have a bit that you don't enjoy as much or an assignment deadline that is really inconvenient. So I say 'Go for it!'. And don't worry about being 52. You won't be the oldest one on your course, but age is completely irrelevant, particularly at the OU. There are lots of mature students.

@Almostwelsh thanks for that. I do also need voices of dissent so that I'm realistic

As to why I've not read many classics before - good question! I usually fancy the latest bestseller being completely honest. When I'm relaxing in the evening I just don't fancy cracking out The Iliad

And that's me being honest as I can be. 😀

@MaliceInWanderland for transparency I absolutely love reading and have read some of the classics for pleasure and enjoyed them. But I detest writing essays and find study miserable. Remember it's not like writing a book review- you need to plan it properly, find references to support your arguments, stick to the word limit (lots of lecturers will take marks off you if you go over) and do it all to a deadline no matter what else you have going on at the time.

Then if you get it marked and you've not done very well you might have to repeat the whole module. And you're paying for this experience!

You might well find it fulfilling, lots of people do, but I would recommend dipping a toe in the water first, especially before parting with too much money.

Have a look at the books being studied in the first few modules and have a read of those. That will give you an idea of whether you fancy going into more depth in the subject.

If you're not sure OP you might be interested in doing an Access module first, as these give you a taster of what OU study is like. The relevant one for English Literature would be this one:

https://www.open.ac.uk/courses/modules/y031

I’m in a senior, full time role working away half the week, have a teenaged daughter, dog, volunteering responsibilities and i’m 5/6ths of the way through an open degree. I don’t need it, I’m professionally qualified, have next to no time but i believe in lifelong learning and I walk the walk.

if you want to do it and have the capacity to do it, do it.

I have either been an Eng Lit student, undergraduate and postgraduate, or a lecturer teaching and researching in the same subject since 1990, across five institutions in two countries and I don’t recognise this at all.

I’ll be 47 when I graduate.