WoNdErLaNdE3: You have to study Literature because...

Thursday, July 3, 2008

With so many things to study these days, why study Literature?

1. To benefit from the insight of others.

2. To open our minds to ambiguities of meaning.

While people will "say what they mean and mean what they say" in an ideal world, language in our world is, in reality, maddeningly and delightfully ambiguous.
We learn to appreciate and create meanings to words.

3. To explore other cultures and beliefs.

History, anthropology and religious studies provide a method of learning about the cultures and beliefs of others from the outside looking in.
Literature, on the other hand, allows you to experience the cultures and beliefs of others first-hand, from the inside looking out.
The only other way to have such a personal understanding of others' beliefs are to adopt them yourself--which most of us aren't willing to do.
If you understand where other people are coming from, you are better equipped to communicate meaningfully with them--and they with you.

4. To appreciate why individuals are the way they are.

Each person we meet represents a unique concoction of knowledge, beliefs, and experiences.
In our own culture we find an infinite variety of attitudes and personalities, hatreds and bigotries, and assumptions.
With each exposure to those who differ from us, we expand our minds.
We may still reject their beliefs and assumptions, but we're one step closer to understanding them.

5. To help us see ourselves as others do.

Literature is a tool of self-examination.
You will see your own personality or habits or assumptions in literature.
Literature serves as a mirror, revealing us to ourselves in all our naked, undefended glory.

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Smile always ;)

Mdm d3wi

WoNdErLaNdE3