In order to become well rounded individuals all college students should be required to take courses in which they read poetry novels mythology and other types of imaginative literature Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or

Imaginative literature like poetry, novels, and mythology force readers to be drawn into worlds unlike their own, and thus can force them to consider new perspectives, give them new ideas, and ensure they relax. However, should all college students be required to take courses where they read such literature in order to become well rounded individuals? While I believe this literature is undoubtably useful for the students, I believe that this recommendation is not appropriate because of the need to curate content for general audiences, the previous exposure to literature most college students have, and the limitations in the books that can be mandated for students from diverse backgrounds.

Consider the case of a computing major who wants to pursue artificial intelligence design. She may find Issac Assimov's science fiction collection an excellent way to explore and avoid some of the worst-case scenarios that the writer imagines. She may even, in the tomes of Greek mythology, find inspiration from Daedelus's creations. However, a college course that requries her to read these litereary works may fail to inspire her in her field, because of the curated content in the course must necessarily be appropriate for a wider audience and pursuant with the faculty's belief on relevant literature. So she may be instead drawn into the worlds of To Kill A Mockingbird or Pride and Prejudice. Both are renowned books that may inspire Arts and History majors, but are not likely to directly inspire this computing major. In fact, in forcing her to take these college courses, she may lose her passion for personal reading all together! Thus, due to the fact that a college course cannot cater to the needs of individuals, this recommendation may actually be deletorious to students with interests different from the selection covered in the course.

Another factor to consider is that schools around the world typically mandate English Literature classes until college. Thus, students are typically exposed to reading a variety of literature, from the Great Gatsby to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, before they enter college. Generally, these pre-college courses also train students in anlaysing these texts to sieve through for the most relevant information. It is unlikely that a single college course, taken once or twice a week over a single semester of 4-6 months, will be able to significantly add to the previous training students already have. Thus, mandating such a course in colleges is a waste of time for students who are unwilling or unable to learn additional information from it. Given this previous training, an elective course that students can opt into if they want to learn more about in-depth literary analysis would be much more appropriate.

Finally, one might argue that students coming into college often come from a variety of backgrounds and imaginative literature would help broaden their horizons beyond their own narrow scope. A girl coming from a small Ethopian village to the US can learn more about American histroy and culture; a boy who has spent his whole life in Germany can learn about Japanese fishing culture. All of these will increase their ability to communicate with both their peers and strangers in their diverse workplaces. However, the reading list for a mandatory college course would need to be governed by a higher authority. Recently, schools in the US have had to ban books on school reading lists like Farenheit 451 or Catch-22 becasue they deal with uncomfortable subjects that cannot be universally mandated, despite their potential to help indivduals. Thus, the fact that the need to be account for external considerations and political leanings makes this recommendation inappropriate because it may enforce narrow minded views when a free range of reading materials for college students would be much more appropriate.

Thus, this recommendation lacks the nuance to be effective. Reading a variety of imaginative literature must be encouraged, but cannot be mandated. Instead, colleges should host libraries with a diverse selection of books, book clubs, and literature courses available that people from all majors can join. They could also go the extra mile by hosting book recommendation pages, which allows them the flexibility to include a wider range of books than a mandatory list will.