was my mandated reading weird?

[keryx]

I assumed that pretty much everyone had to read Das Kapital and/or The Communist Manifesto in high school, since I'm pretty sure I had to read them in middle school [The main academic contribution of my private schooling was its social studies curriculum; handy for political discourse, though I'm ill equipped to lead a bus tour of Civil War sites.].

At least - I read them both at some point, and it wasn't in college cause I remember arguing with someone about the contents of Capital in a freshman seminar.

Anyhow. Indulge my curiosity? What year did you graduate high school (or the equivalent secondary school in your part of the world)? And did you have to read either of these books?

Comments

[moongirli.livejournal.com]

I graduated from high school in 1999, and did not have to read either one of those throughout my entire high school career. Then again, the city where I went to school considers five consecutive years of rehashing Civil War and World War II in History, so, take from that what you will...

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Ha! That jives nicely with my follow-up edit: my social studies education involved very little battle history and a great deal of critical thinking orientation.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I finished high school in 1993, and I'm pretty sure I'd had to read at least Das Kapital by 1989.

[raanve]

I graduated high school in 1995, and we were not assigned either book. I was in "advanced" classes in high school, but we didn't have AP classes, for whatever that's worth.

[belladonnalin.livejournal.com]

I graduate from public high school in 1998. And I definitely did NOT have to read those for school, though I'd read both for debate.

[belladonnalin.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I was in AP History, Government, and English.

[crafting-change.livejournal.com]

I graduated H.S. in '96 and they weren't required reading - I had taken HS & AP history & english.

[rianwyn.livejournal.com]

I graduated in 2000... and haven't read either.

[suzy-hendrix.livejournal.com]

I'm going to be honest here. I graduated in 2003, didn't *have* to read The Communist Manifesto, though I did on my own, I think it was on the AP Book List. And I've never heard of Das Kapital.

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

I graduated h.s. in 1990 (I feel OLD looking at these comments!) and didn't have to read either one. Still haven't read either.

[miffyness.livejournal.com]

The only books we had to read in school were English set texts and biographies of Hitler (rubbish UK comprehensive, '95). I spent a week on Marxist literary theory in college and everything I know about Marxism comes from that.

[examorata.livejournal.com]

I graduated from high school in 1990 and didn't have to read either of them. I read part of the Communist Manifesto in college for part of a literary criticism class on Marxist theory. I've never read Das Kapital.

[auntysocial.livejournal.com]

I graduated in 1964. Those books were more likely to have been forbidden than required.

[danyea.livejournal.com]

1983, no, I didn't read them... but can lead the bus tour for ya, especially around Richmond

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I will make note of this for future bus tour emergencies!

[snidegrrl.livejournal.com]

Are you saying we had to read these at NA? Because I so do not remember that.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Das Kapital came up in the context of Gary Laws' class - remember the whole rise & fall of communism section? Which coincided so nicely with the Berlin wall shenanigans?

[snidegrrl.livejournal.com]

I remember literally nothing from Gary Laws' class except panicking and binge-purge studying and being aware of how unhealthy that was. And feeling keenly his disappointment!

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Really? That class was one of my favorite things about NA. I mean, big bang! Civil rights! Communism! All interrelated. I'm sure my papers for class were ridiculous and full of themselves, but he planted a seed of holistic thinking that colored academics for me for awhile.

Was I a binge-purge studier, too?

[snidegrrl.livejournal.com]

I don't think you were as bad of a binge-purge studier as me? I dunno. If his class planted any seeds in me, I'm not aware of it, though it might have happened.

I have said it before and I will say it again: I wasted a lot of valuable time and experiences at that age.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Ah, but see - maybe this relates to the other post. You fucked off then, and are therefore able to be serious and focused now without ambivalence?

[snidegrrl.livejournal.com]

My therapist describes it as forever punishing myself for perceived sins of the past. :)

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I like my optimistic perspective.