A tough Harvard class where students are expected to read a full classic novel each week has become a huge hit on campus.
The course, HUM 10, demands that students completely abandon their electronic devices, have perfect attendance, and read up to and over 800 pages of ancient literary works weekly.
Although the course only allows for 90 students to be admitted, in recent years over 180 freshmen have applied to take HUM 10, according to the Wall Street Journal.
HUM 10 professor David Elmer, a Harvard professor of Greek literature, introduced the course in an academic seminar, stating: 'We discuss these books intensively, and we work with you to help you craft your own writing in response to these texts.'
'We try to recruit the best professors we can from across the humanities at Harvard, and we ask them to teach books that have been particularly impactful for them, books that have been critical in their own lives as readers and thinkers,' said Elmer.
Former Harvard freshman Abigail Mack took to social media to discuss the 13 books she read over a roughly 14-week period.
'Humanities 10 is no joke, but I still love it because I'm a nerd,' she wrote in a TikTok video.
Some of the books she read included Odyssey by Homer, The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, Inferno by Dan Brown, and Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli.
A tough Harvard class where students are expected to read a full classic novel each week has become a huge hit on campus
HUM 10 professor David Elmer, a Harvard professor of Greek literature, introduced the course
HUM 10 also guides students in developing their penmanship by warranting regular essays alongside intensive discussions surrounding the literary texts.
Elmer weighed in on the discussion over why students may feel inclined to challenge themselves with advanced courses.
'I did have the sense that a lot of students feel that the culture at large is not hospitable to deep reading, deep thinking or deep engagement with writing,' Elmer told the Wall Street Journal.
'Whether that’s because of AI encroaching on their autonomy as a writer or thinker, I honestly don’t know,' Elmer said.
Peggy Urdan, a now-Harvard grad who enrolled in the HUM 10 courses, told The Wall Street Journal: 'A lot of what we get out of this class is the human experience, and you can’t get that out of AI.'
The course now draws from a roster of Harvard’s most distinguished faculty, who lead a pair of lectures alongside a weekly seminar.
HUM 10 is the rigorous humanities curriculum that demands for students to completely abandon their electronic devices, have perfect attendance, and read up to and over 800 pages of ancient literary works weekly
Over the years, prominent scholars like historian Jill Lepore and critic Namwali Serpell have stepped up to teach. In 2023, Matherne and Elmer assumed leadership from Menand and Greenblatt, who remain frequent contributors to the curriculum, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Applicants and enrolled students noted that they sought out the class specifically for its discipline.
Several students scoffed at non-students asking why they wouldn't just rely on AI tools to do the reading for them, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Urdan stresses the need to entirely discard AI for a chance to truly benefit from the teachings.
