Post-Grad Syllabus

Back-to-school reading!!!

Even though I’m no longer a student, I’ve felt the cultural impact of back-to-school season long after graduation. The month of September isn’t quite dark academia fall vibes for me YET but there are some specific BTS media that feels quite perfect for this transitionary period.

Here is my syllabus of back-to-school themed media for those of us lifelong learners who are no longer spending time in the classroom.

I gathered a few recommendations based on a variety of back-to-school vibes I’ve found myself in.

Vibe #1: High schooler in the 80s & 90s (sinister undertones)

The recommendations for this vibe capture what it feels like when school has started but the weather is still warm and you’re still hanging out with your friends every night before the homework starts to pile up. But things aren’t quite the same as last year...

• The Shards - Bret Easton Ellis

  • This book perfectly captures the end of summer, beginning of the school year experience — if that experience is in 1981, in LA, with a supposed serial killer on the loose. The Shards is unsettling, disturbing, and so well written that you won’t mind. The hardback book is a hefty 600-odd pages, it’s no beach read but it’ll keep you on the edge of your seat and give you that page-turning excitement you never got in AP Lit.

The Topeka School - Ben Lerner

• Maybe it’s because I interned for the city of Topeka during a fall semester of grad school, but this book feels relatable to the midwestern high school experience in many ways. The book is told in three perspectives, mother, father, and son. The parents are both psychologists at the Menninger Clinic and the son is a debate champion. Much of the book takes place in academic settings, exploring the relationship between the family members and how they interact with the world around them. Topeka is a quintessential American city in many ways, both positive and negative, making it the ideal backdrop for the characters as the author examines themes of violence, misogyny, and masculinity in the US.

Vibe #2: American Pastoral but a little creepy and bit feminist

Unfortunately, I wasn’t the biggest fan of The Scarlet Letter. My favorite part of that unit was actually learning about the Puritanism in the American colonies. So here’s what I’d recommend instead, books with similar themes and settings but a bit more fun.

• The Crucible - Arthur Miller

  • There’s something that just feels right about media set in the American pre-colonial era in August and September, probably since this is the first lesson in history class at the beginning of each school year. The Crucible has related themes as The Scarlet Letter but is easier to read as a play. The Crucible can serve as both a lesson about the Salem Witch Trials as well as the McCarthy-era witch hunts for communists in the US in the 1950s. But most of all, the witchy motifs are a good warm-up for fall without being outright scary.

• Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood

  • This book has a similar tone to The Handmaid’s Tale Hulu show, if The Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t dystopian but a work of historical fiction. The book features murder, the budding field of psychology, and themes of friendship and loneliness. Reading Atwood at the beginning of the school year is a good way to push yourself to read something more challenging than a beach read but still enjoyable.

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories - Washington Irving

  • This book is the perfect combination of creepy and pastoral. The collection features brief vignettes on rural America and England, love, and death. It also includes his iconic stories The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. His writing is comical, heartfelt, and paints a beautiful picture of each setting. I bought the collection for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow but found myself equally charmed by the other stories.

• Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

  • The more lighthearted pick on this list is Little Women. Little Women reminds me of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books that I read as a child in late summer. The March women value education and the arts but are limited by their status as women without considerable means. Their story is inspiring and uplifting, demonstrating the value of sisterhood, love, and domestic life. It will also make you thankful to be a woman living in the 21st century where we have so many more opportunities than the women that came before us.

Vibe #3: Going to school post WWII

The war is over! All is right in the world… or is it? Opportunities for education are more available to the public, yet challenges persist. This vibe explores what it was like to come of age in the postwar era.

• Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger

  • Salinger for back to school? Groundbreaking. The first part of the story takes place on a college campus while Franny is visiting her boyfriend. The second part of the story chronicles the parallel spiritual journeys of Franny and her brother Zooey, through a conversation about What It All Means. In the end, its all about love.

• My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante

  • My Brilliant Friend is truly nothing short of brilliant. The story is about two girls growing up in 1950s Naples, Italy, competing against, and supporting one another. They grow up in the same neighborhood but eventually their paths diverge, complicating their relationship. The story demonstrates the value of education and friendship as the pair come of age. I associate Italy with summertime, but the story focuses significantly on their school experience, making it an excellent read for September.