Aaron LaFauci
As a senior at Brandeis, Aaron is currently working on an English thesis that explores how the genre of
Robinson Crusoe/Robinsonade stories have evolved to produce the most popular game of all time: Minecraft. He wants to examine how Minecraft reflects the colonial didacticism of its literary heritage as well as how players of the game have pushed its boundaries to make statements about labor, environmental exploitation, and industry. Aaron hopes that his thesis will enable him to crack open some of the generic ideas about Robinson Crusoe and show how its formula can speak to ideas other than Empire. There is something intrinsically human about wanting to escape to a place where work feels meaningful and there is boundless room to build whatever our hearts desire.
Outside of the classroom, Aaron loves to read serious fantasy. If a book is long and involves a scenic adventure, he’ll devour it! In Aaron’s opinion, Tolkien is a god among writers, and survival literature—like Gary Paulsen writing—is also great. He generally likes all the authors he meets, and he can always count on George RR Martin to provide an engaging story. On a slightly more unusual note, Aaron considers Wikipedia to be a masterwork of collective writing—perhaps the most important writing project ever undertaken. A couple of books he recommends to other English students are 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Márquez and The Overstory by Richard Powers.
While he’s taken many great classes at Brandeis, Aaron particularly enjoyed Jerome Tharaud’s “Frontier Visions” class and felt that every book was a pleasure to read. His favorite English class he has ever taken is Thomas King’s “Enlightenment of the Flesh,” which provides a fascinating introduction to 18th century ideas regarding the enlightenment, identity, and the evolution of sympathy.
When he’s not studying or working on his thesis, Aaron keeps himself very busy—he is the Arts Editor of the Brandeis Hoot, and he posts choice bits of writing, poetry, and art on his blog, www.AAAAHH.net. He hopes to someday write the next Great American Novel, but in the meantime he wants to write for a meaningful publication or media outlet.