Tayana Osuna, arts and culture editor

I am tired of being assigned readings that are about rich white folk and their so-called “problems.” 

Hi, I’m an English major, and sometimes I hate it. Okay, maybe hate is a strong word. English is truly my passion. Writing is my love, and reading is my way of loving. Most of the time, I do enjoy the readings I am given in class, or at the very least can find a way of enjoying it even if it means making fun of it. Now, I normally am one to protect the artist, in this case the author, and frankly now that I think about it, it isn’t always the author I have a problem with, it’s sometimes the repetitive subject matter across many novels. It’s the fact that a good chunk of the books I have been assigned as an English major are often written by white people telling stories about privileged white people. I get that these texts are considered classics, and are believed to carry vital English elements that many people would think of as criminal to not include them in our English courses, but are you really going to tell me that all these important readings just happen to all be written by white people?

The books I’m talking about are likely ones that follow the same genre or “vibe” of those we’ve read in high school. Think Pride and Prejudice, think Romeo and Juliet, think The Great Gatsby. Now, this isn’t to say these books that I’ve listed aren’t wonderful, because they are. This also isn’t to say we should stop teaching them, but surely there are more contemporary novels containing a more inclusive and proper representation of our current times, right? 

I struggle a lot with this topic. I love these books, they have been a part of why I love English courses so much. However, the main reason why I enjoy things such as literature and writing is because it allows me to peek through the doors of perspectives I could never even fathom on my own. It allows me to see outside of my own little discourse and peer into the vast others that surround me. Literature is what I believe to be the most beneficial aspect of education, of course I am biased. I say this because there are so many people in this world who have something to say and writing allows them to say it, and then we can read it. The difference between me and someone who rolls their eyes at this sentiment is that I care about what these people have to say.

There is more to life than white perspective. There is more to life than the little conundrums rich white people find themselves in when really the only issue I see is how ignorant they all are. Then there’s the added issue of how willingly ignorant we are to limit ourselves to just these narratives. Most of us aren’t even a part of these narratives, so why are we all being forced to read them?

I ask my professors, and other professors alike; make an effort to include other narratives that go beyond the cis-straight-white one. Please, before I lose myself to linear thoughts in this wonderfully complicated world.