Why Do We Need To Study Literature? What Are The Benefits?

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What is the importance of literature?

Benefits of studying literature, what are the reasons to study literature, benefits of literature to students.

This subject does not have any particular language across the world and religions. Still, every definition of literature aligns with one another and gives true meaning to this beautiful artistic subject.

The subject literature broadens our horizons. This particular subject gives us the opportunity to learn and understand those people and incidents which are very different yet important to know.

Our cultural heritage has literature as a very valuable part, which anybody can access very easily and get the most out of it to enrich their lives through different ways. For some people, studying this particular subject can be daunting, but once you will understand to break the barrier, the texts of this subject will become one of the most entertaining, funny, romantic, yet tragic for you. This subject has the ability to take us beyond our limited imagination and thoughts with respect to life to make us experience and live the life of a different community of people at different points in time. It makes our brain grind itself both emotionally and intellectually to give us a deep knowledge of our society, history, and an actual understanding of our own lives. You can get a very real glimpse of what you haven’t seen or when you weren’t present. Literature enriches our experience in many ways.

If you want to know more about some common yet interesting things about daily life, you can check the articles on why do leaves fall and why do we fast .

The way literature gives relief from anxiety and stress, that not many subjects can give. You won’t believe but just giving less time to reading and understanding literature for a very short period of time in the day can create good health for your brain and it a break from all the complex thinking. It slows down the heartbeat whenever we feel anxiety and this has been proved by the studies itself. It takes the mind of readers away from the stress and worries in life. World Literacy Foundation says that reading literature is one of the ways to inculcate a strong imagination and creativity within you. Because when we study literature, we start to create that particular scene in our mind which gives us a good concentration. Watching movies is also nice but doesn’t need much imagination because we have the visuals in front of us. Anyone with a short attention span can give a chance to literature to improve it. Haskins Laboratories for the Science of the Spoken and Written Word came out with research that concluded that the brain takes a larger span of time to understand reading rather than watching media. Because sometimes, the books and novels get very challenging and complex with many twists within a story, which makes the brain divert its attention to every minor detail.

A window gets provided to those who do a study of literature to see the outer world through the eyes of literary genres. It makes you understand the way every society and culture is and with a historical record as well. It’s like a pathway to give you new adventurous experiences. Good personal skills are also get developed through literature. The benefits with which the literature comes is in itself sufficient to know the importance of it.

Reading not just only helps in building a good vocab, but also helps in inculcating a good reasoning ability in children and adults. Literature introduces you to a rich language, helps you develop and discover good skills and words, discover a new self, sense the problems in society by a critical view, explore texts with new perspectives, read about culture, understand the value of poetry, gain the literary skills of classics, and develop a good writing sense. They realize the problems which the other characters face and first-handedly think about the solution for it. They understand the reasoning of each and every character and respond to it. You can feel whenever the character in the book is getting successful or failing a task. Having a good vocabulary gives good improvement to the communication skills. And eventually helps in developing work relationships. You can develop and discover a new view on history (which most think is a boring subject) by your own self if you study it from a literature point of view.

You won’t believe it at first, but the reasons because which you should study literature are very much connected to the ways you should live your life on a daily basis.

People haven’t changed their thinking and feeling style. The emotions they used to feel then, are the same they feel now. Every lesson you will learn will be applicable to your life in many ways. When a child starts to read literature, they understand the human’s reactions to various situations and the nature of our heart as well. The texts of essays, poems of good poets, novel stories, and diaries play the role of bridging the gap between two very distant timelines and between different ethnicities as well. They get the awareness of how to deal with certain situations and secure themselves from future problems. While reading classic literature, you will feel the connection to the outer world and its good principles. Literature is a very useful tool to make a child understand the evils and goods of society. Literature connects us to history. Many people consider history as an important part of our life. But if we read this subject with the sense of memorizing it, we will never be able to love it. Students can enjoy it more if they develop the habit of reading it through literature. The importance of empathy in society is a lot, else it will change into a dog-eat-dog society very soon, which is going to hurt everyone in turn. According to research, reading a number of literary works will develop empathy in people. The works of literary fiction are effective in this phenomenon, because readers like to understand deeply what the characters of this particular story are going through, hence they want to understand their joy, sorrow, and problems. People who read more and more have a good ability to discern the mind and feelings of people in the most logical way. Studying literature helps in developing an opportunity to inculcate the higher-order thinking skills in the mind of the reader. When you analyze the view of one story, you actually start to develop good thinking skills in yourself. Students, after reading literature, tend to apply what they read in the course of their own experience in life. They often compare the stories from books to their own life. Growing older, they develop such a good sense of morality that they can give strong discussion points. Because of a continuous habit of analyzing stories and relating to them from their own point of view often becomes the plus point during any general talk.

Reading literature is very important for students as reading gives development to the thought process, inculcates knowledge and valuable lessons for our mind to be creative. The way books hold interesting stories, feelings, thoughts, and information is very unlikely to be seen in anything. Texts in literary books make us understand that some things should not get underestimated and that's why they get taught in schools.

Student life has always been and will always be challenging and complex. Now if a little reading can help them understand some processes of life, then there’s nothing wrong with it, right? Reading literature is a fun activity. But also this fun activity comes with some benefits also for a student. When a student reads the word, its cognitive functions get stimulated and eventually sharpens the mind, especially that part that develops the critical analysis and concentration. What student life has as a major component is the ability to write. Start by just reading one book, and you won’t believe the change which you will realize after writing something after it. Today's students are even aware of many devices to explore and learn things from new perspectives about poetry, plays, art stuff, classics, cultures, ideas, and many other literary words by doing research on web media. In schools, often texts of Shakespeare and John Locke get read by students. The way they used to write is considered as the writing of the future. Students can do a study of literature very well through these two poets who had excellent skills with high value. Students can develop good skills and gain a lot if they will start reading a number of books related to literature either on the web or through a book from the beginning of their childhoods.

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Why Study Literature?

05.15.2023 • 5 min read

Learn about the value and benefits of studying literature: how it develops our skills as well as shapes our understanding of the society we live in.

What Is Literature?

The benefits of studying literature.

Literature & Outlier.org

Many libraries in the U.S. are under attack.

From small towns to big cities, it’s more common to see protests outside of libraries. Libraries are under the microscope and being scrutinized for what content they have on their shelves.

Some people see certain books as a threat to society. While others believe everyone has a right to access any information they wish. The fact is literature is so powerful some people see it as dangerous and want to choose what the public has a right to read.

This is not the first time in history that people have tried to censor literature for what it says. So what really is literature and why is it so powerful?

In this article, we’ll define literature, talk about the history of literature, and the benefits of studying literature in college.

Literature is an art form that uses language to create imaginative experiences. It includes poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction.

Literature communicates ideas and emotions.It entertains, educates, and inspires readers. Literature explores complex themes and is an important part of human culture.

From its original Latin derivative, "writing formed with letters," to its current definition, a "body of written works," our understanding of literature has evolved.

Literature explains society and culture. It both criticizes and affirms cultural values based on the writer’s perceptions. It expresses and explores the human condition. It looks back to the past and onward toward the future.

As literature represents the culture and history of a language or people, the study of literature has great value. To study literature means looking deeply into a large body of written work and examining it as an art form.

Of course, there are many different literary genres, or types of literature. At a liberal arts school , a literature program, a student would study these genres extensively and understand the historical and cultural context they represent.

Literary Fiction vs. Genre Fiction

Students in a college literature program examine many forms of literature, including:

Some definitions of literature separate fiction into 2 categories: literary fiction and genre fiction. Genre fiction consists of more popular literature read for entertainment. Some examples of genre fiction include crime, fantasy, and science fiction stories.

Literary fiction explores themes of the human condition. These stories cannot be further categorized and are read primarily for a philosophical search for the meaning of life. Examples of literary fiction include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Beloved by Toni Morrison.

You can discover more distinctions by studying literature in depth.

1. Literature Develops Communication Skills

The foundation of literature is the English Language. By reading literature, you can improve your knowledge of language: vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, content creation, and more. When you immerse yourself in William Shakespeare, Celeste Ng, or Chinua Achebe, you're absorbing new words, expressions, and ideas—without even realizing it.

You can use everything you learn to improve your own writing and communication skills . You will use these skills beyond high school and college. In our everyday lives, we navigate personal relationships, craft emails, present projects, collaborate with teammates, analyze data, and more.

Yuval Noah Harari has written much of his own literature on the history and success of the human race. In his book Sapiens, he emphasizes our ability to craft stories as one of our most valuable skills: " Fiction has enabled us not merely to imagine things, but to do so collectively.” Through these collective stories, we learn about the human experience, both in smaller interpersonal ways and on a larger, more global scale.

2. Literature Teaches Us About the Human Condition

Literature helps us reflect on the human experience, teaching us about who we are and the world we live in. It presents a range of emotions, from love to anger to grief to happiness. It gives us insight and context about societal norms and cultural traditions.

It explores our history and our present; it imagines our futures. It introduces us to new ways of thinking and living, compelling us to think critically and creatively about our own experiences.

Through literature, we see we're not alone in our thoughts and feelings. The characters we read about have already experienced similar difficulties and worked to solve or change them, giving us the blueprint to do the same.

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice goes beyond social commentary to explore the complexities of familial relationships, romantic relationships, and friendships. Mr. Darcy insults Elizabeth Bennet without meaning to, Elizabeth Bennet makes harsh judgments without knowing all the facts, and Mrs. Bennet worries about her daughter's future constantly. We can see ourselves in them.

3. Literature Teaches Us About Empathy

When we connect with literature's characters and narratives, we learn how to empathize with others. While we’re not physically experiencing the raging seas in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse or the loss of a loved one in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, we are swept up in the story and the emotion. This helps us develop empathy and emotional intelligence.

In a 2006 study , professors at the University of Toronto concluded a lifetime exposure to literary fiction positively correlated with advanced social ability. In 2020, the Harvard Business Review encouraged business students to read literary works to enhance their abilities to keep an open mind, process information, and make effective decisions.

4. Literature Helps Us Explore New Ideas

With words, and not actions, authors create spaces where we can explore new ideas, new structures, new concepts, and new products. When the only limit is your imagination, anything is possible in creative writing.

We can dive into the past to understand British society at the turn of the 19th century in Austen's Pride and Prejudice or jump into potential futures through Harari's Homo Deus. We can consider alternative futures like that in George Orwell's 1984 or conduct experiments in Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

We don't encounter monsters or humanoid robots in our everyday lives (at least we hope not!). But when we explore them through literature, we’re equipped to consider, challenge, and analyze concepts we don't yet know or understand. This practice opens our minds and allows us to be more flexible when we face the new and unknown. These critical thinking skills enable us to process information easier.

5. Literature Changes the Way We Think

With everything we learn from literature and the skills it helps us develop, literature changes the way we think, work, and act.

When we can think more critically, we arrive at different conclusions. When we open our minds and empathize with others, we better accept and tolerate differences. When we can articulate and communicate effectively, we work better together to achieve and succeed.

Whether English literature or Russian literature or French literature, literature is the key to understanding ourselves and society.

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Outlier courses are 100% online, so you can learn at your own pace from the comfort of your own home. At $149 per credit, you’ll save 50% compared to other college courses, all while earning transferable credits from the top-ranked University of Pittsburgh. If you decide to continue your education in literature, you can take the credit with you to the degree program of your choice.

It’s no doubt studying literature will give you a well-rounded education. It is through literature that societies have grown and developed—inspiring change throughout the world. Choosing to study literature will not only give you a glimpse into the past but help you articulate the present and inspire change in the future. By studying literature you will have the power to connect with others and truly touch their hearts and minds.

About the Author

Bob Patterson is a former Director of Admissions at Stanford University, UNC Chapel Hill, and UC Berkeley; Daisy Hill is the co-author of Uni in the USA…and beyond published by the Good Schools Guide 2019. Together, they have established MyGuidED, a new educational tool for students looking to apply to university (launching 2023).

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Why study literature.

Literature helps us better understand our lives, ourselves, and the world around us. Encounters with literature develop the concepts of identification, imagination, and empathy. In our increasingly chaotic world, these skills matter deeply. Taking a deep dive into literature from different cultures allows you to both expand your ability to evaluate and discuss the work itself and also better understand what it tells us about the world, our own beliefs and values, and the beliefs and values of others.

Literature is for everyone, no matter what your future major or career may be. Studying literature tests your creative mind, inspiring innovation and change. Literature helps us use our written language as a practical, everyday tool that enlightens, educates, and inspires those who interact with it.

Practical Skills Gained Through the Study of Literature

Let’s start with what may not be obvious, through the study of literature you develop practical skills that are applicable to a wide variety of careers. Writing, research, and class discussions develops skills such as developing persuasive arguments, carrying out analysis, and communication in an articulate manner, all of which are important to professional success.

When you study literature with Gustavus Adolphus, you’ll don’t just read old books and write essays. For instance, you’ll learn to present with a small group, plan and lead discussions, collaborate on activities, and work with off-campus organizations. You’ll build skills such as writing and summarizing complex information in a concise way. You’ll dive into readings and films to develop your ability to detect and analyze important details. 

While you might not associate any of these skills specifically with the study of literature, the truth is that literature is a fascinating subject with multiple transferable skills useful across career paths from business and arts to the sciences and trades. 

A recent survey conducted on behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) found that the majority of hiring managers prioritize prospective employees who have skills that a literature degree can provide. Nearly all who were surveyed (an impressive 93%) agree that “a candidate’s demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than their undergraduate major.” A literature degree offers all of these skills — and more. 

Thus in the English Department  at Gustavus Adolphus, you’ll take courses through the study of literature that develop the skills that employers in all types of industries are looking for.

Get more information about studying literature at Gustavus Adolphus .

Why Do We Study Literature?

Beyond thinking only about the practical skills to land you a job after college, studying literature is a meaningful endeavor. Simply put, engaging with literary works written by people from various cultures, viewpoints, and historical periods broadens our understanding of other people and our overall worldview.

The study of literature also exercises your critical thinking skills that can be used in all aspects of your life and in any career. The experience of studying and discussing literature in a classroom prepares you to think critically on your own about areas such as film, news, and social media, sparking new conversations and raising insightful questions. 

Understanding Human Nature Through Literature

One of the most widely used forms of expression is the written word, and it has been for centuries. Whether you’re engrossed in the drama of an ancient play or a compelling contemporary novel, you can notice parallels between the characters and our own behavior and current events. 

Great literature also teaches us about significant life issues. From the beginning, we are raised on stories of struggle: humans against a vast array of challenges, whether they be other people, nature, or one’s own self. The struggle against a challenge is central to literature. By reading and analyzing the material you grow your understanding of why humans create conflict, how it can be resolved, and what you can do to ensure preservation for yourself, others, and the world around you.

Empathy and Emotional Growth: The Significance of Literature in Our Lives

Literature allows us a window into places, people, and situations we wouldn’t be able to experience otherwise. Literature can transport you to another time and place without ever having to leave your room. You experience these stories simply by reading them; imagining them to life in your mind. The feelings evoked, whether sad, angry, inspired, or blissfully happy, are ours to share with the characters in the book. 

Literary studies also help us develop a stronger sense of who we are and how we act in any given situation. In a 2023 study , researchers found that students with a higher reading ability level had better social-emotional skills than those at a comparatively lower reading level. While scientists are still working on the link between regular reading and empathy levels, there’s one thing we can say for sure: literature can stir emotions deep within us.

The Value of Studying Literature: A Comprehensive Approach

Literature is a concrete way to wake up our senses and bring the world into sharper focus. Studying literature can help us to observe the things around us — sharpening our ability to listen and hear, smell, taste, and touch. 

Literature deepens our thinking by bringing more awareness of our own values and worldview, but also those of others throughout the world and throughout history. Because literature illustrates concepts in a vivid manner, we can observe differing values and worldviews in action. Literature allows us to explore the implications of various values and worldviews and gives us an excellent opportunity to take a closer look at our own assumptions about the world and compare them with others. 

Crossing Cultural Boundaries: The Role of Writing and Literature

Literature broadens your horizons. Cross-cultural literary studies teach you how to read and interpret complex texts, write persuasive interpretations, and use theoretical frames for literary and cultural interpretation. 

Writing and literature join together to teach the importance of understanding imaginative works within their cultural and historical contexts. Studying the literary traditions of different cultures around the world provides you with a deeper understanding of what a culture's literature says about its people's values and world views. Specialized courses offer a more in-depth look at different groups of writers, time periods, countries, cultures, and writing styles.

Exploring the Connection Between Creative Writing and Studying Literature

Creative writing is the imaginative and expressive use of language to convey stories, ideas, and emotions. Unlike other forms of writing that primarily focus on conveying information, creative writing emphasizes originality and the ability to captivate readers through narrative innovation. It encompasses various genres, including fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction, allowing writers to explore a diverse range of styles and themes. In this field, writers often draw inspiration from their personal experiences, observations, or sheer imagination, crafting unique worlds and characters that resonate with readers.

Studying literature provides inspiration and examples for the creative writer. Creative writing in turn nurtures the development of literary skills.

English Degrees in Literature

A literature degree offers a wealth of invaluable skills in both writing and research as well as provides a unique insight into the human mind. A degree in literature is considered excellent preparation for industries from finance to law. The Gustavus Adolphus English Department offers degree programs in: 

  • English with a Literature and Film Track 
  • English with a Multi-Ethnic and Global Literatures and Film Track 
  • Communication Arts/Literature Teaching 

Expand Your World: Literature at Gustavus Adolphus

In addition to those enrolled in English degree programs, students from all majors are encouraged to take a literature class or two during their time at Gustavus. Each course allows you the chance to explore areas that interest you the most, whether that’s U.S. Indigenous Literatures or African Digital Literatures. It’s up to you! 

Regardless of where your interests lie, you’ll be inspired by knowledgeable, innovative faculty during your literary studies in the English Department at Gustavus Adolphus. Working with world-class English and literature faculty prepares you to make a positive impact on your community, your life, and those surrounding you. Get started on your own path today at Gustavus Adolphus College.

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Why Our Students Study Literature

Students from all backgrounds find that their literature studies open their minds to unique perspectives and give them real-world skills — useful no matter what their major may be. Check out what our students have to say about how studying literature at Gustavus has influenced their approach to literature, education, and life.

"Creative writing has been a happy part of my life since I first learned to hold a pencil, so once I chose Gustavus, I considered my career as an English major a given. Perhaps I am a rare bird for that, being so sure of myself so soon. But I could not have anticipated how much I learned about the value of reading, in every area of life, through the English major; nor did I see its potential to shape me as a writer. No matter how straightforward a story may seem, the search for something deeper within it leads to all kinds of insights that, while perhaps not in line with the author's original intent (who knows?), teach you more about the world and the different ways people use language. The theory taught alongside literature, in combination with this analysis, gives you the power of perspective that is so essential to finding contentment and peace in communication with people who are different from you, in a way that is unique to the study of literature. To write you have to read, and to really read, you have to think, criticize, doubt, wonder, and stand amazed by words on the page. The English major showed me how to do that, and not only has it increased my skills as a writer, it has made me a more compassionate and honest person."

—Caitlin Skvorc

"I study literature because I believe there is power in stories. Literature is both intensely personal as well as a communal experience. I love examining how words, sentences, characters, plot lines, and tropes reveal who we are as humans. Humanity is a complicated thing and requires an infinite amount of words to describe and analyze. That's the joy of studying literature, there is always a new reality to discover."

—Mikaela Warner

"For me, the decision to study literature has been a struggle. Since I was young, I always enjoyed reading and being read to, but I always considered the actual study of literature to be made up; seriously, poets don’t actually try to "invoke" some other work. Literary devices? Some make-believe stuff that people invented to make English seem scientific. Although I enjoyed it, literature, to me, was studied only by those who weren’t smart enough to study something real, something provable.

As I understand it, those feelings are not uncommon. The difference for me, though (as compared to some other people I know), is that I grew out of them. I started really looking at rhetorical devices and the use of language. I started to see that, although it still was not science, it was art, and art is the greatest expression of that which is human. My goal is to learn as much as I can about the human condition, and what it really means to be human, in all aspects."

—David Lick

"By studying literature I find that this sense of confusion and search for self-discovery is a common theme. I am confident that my choice to be an English major is one that I will be satisfied with. Thus far, to be an English major entails more than just being able to read and write well. An English major must also strive to understand and interpret the importance that various forms of literature have had on the society of the past and the present. Being able to express opinions is another important aspect, as is starting a piece of literature with an open mind. These habits are also important when facing everyday life, not just literature.

The chance to read and write is something that everyone should be able to experience. Literature in all forms is everywhere in today’s society, and with this idea, it is clear just how important it is. Whether it is studied in the classroom, or read for pleasure or purpose, literature is a central part of many lives. It offers not only a chance to enlighten a person, but it also gives the chance to broaden one’s horizons and perspectives. In my case, having the opportunity to study literature in two different languages has helped me to find similarities in two different cultures, and to also find that although literature varies in form and content, it is important and it is a central part of many lives."

—Stephanie Conroy

"Reading and writing, the basic principles involved in the study of English, serve as the gateway to a deeper level of thought. After mastering these elementary skills, comprehension, analysis, and interpretation are learned and used to better educate oneself. Studying literature and observing personal reactions to the literature can make one more aware of his or her own values. English skills are helpful in every area of life. Reading, writing, comprehension, analysis, and interpretation increase efficiency in multiple ways including communication, documentation in other areas of study, and reflection of personal values. I believe there is no area of study that English and communication skills do not influence."

—Maria Freund

"Reading and writing, in general, are undoubtedly some of the most valuable skills one can have; obviously, having these skills makes it much easier for people to communicate and to participate in society. However, there exists a purpose for reading and writing outside of these immediate practical purposes; the written word can be used to enlighten, to persuade, to express emotion, or simply for enjoyment. In these forms the written word becomes an art form, and a way of reaching out to others through a personal experience between the writer and the reader. Reading is an excellent way to associate oneself with the great minds of history and peer into their own thoughts. Reading is surely one of the most effective ways one can expand oneself.

Literature is a way in which we can capture and interpret what has happened and is happening to us personally and to the world as a whole. An entire culture exists in the written word, documenting the collective thoughts of everyone who cared to share them with the world. Therefore, I believe that for one to truly be a part of human society, it is critical that one take part in the evolution and self-realization that is literature, even if only in the reading aspect. Writing, however, carries a grave importance, as literature simply would not exist in the accessible form it does without written word, and for that reason I believe all who can write should. One should take advantage of the great opportunity to be part of and contribute to the world and society in which he or she lives through writing. I see literature in the societal sense as a collective struggle to understand and make the best of the lives that we have all been given. Literature serves as a way to enrich our minds, and presents a way to improve the world not only through the beauty of its presence but through the ideas and tangible possibilities it possesses."

—Matt Beachey

"The best of my English teachers taught us literature because they wanted the art of it to expand our minds and help teach us new ways of seeing the world. I was taught to both see a work of literature as a way to understand the time it was written, and the people who produced it, and to find the parts of that work that spoke to me in my time and place. While I am skeptical about whether or not anyone can ever really understand a culture or a time prior to their own, I do know that many times literature and art provide insights that cold hard facts do not. Most of all I find that literature makes the differences more manageable and highlights the similarities between people. I can read a Greek tragedy two thousand years later and agree with things that some older white man was saying because he was a human being, and I am a human being. Although it may sound trite, I have had reading experiences that taught me more about what it means to live in this world.

Not everyone loves reading enough to do it in their spare time, but the people who do are the ones who get the most benefit out of what they read because they want to be there in that world that literature creates. I have met very intelligent people who do not read. But all of the interesting people I know read, whether or not they are particularly intelligent."

—Sybylla Yeoman Hendrix

"I read literature for a number of different reasons. Literature is an art full of passion and heart; it transcends the ages. Great literature hits on many different levels. Over the years authors have accomplished unfeasible tasks through the use of their words. Literature has prompted political and social change in societies and continues to do so to this day. It can be a battle cry for the proletariat to rise up and make a difference, and it can also provide personal counsel.

Literature sets me free from the responsibilities of this world, and at the same time, it ties me down to those same responsibilities. Some literature I read for an escape; to journey to a faraway land and go on a grand adventure with creatures beyond my imagination. Other literature has much more serious subject matter, and I read it to remind myself that life isn’t all cupcakes and ice cream."

—Ryan McGinty

"To me, literature is about the obsession with ideas. We read literature to discover and to learn about ideas and we write it to discover and to cultivate our own ideas. No lover of ideas can go without either reading or writing. For me, if I go too long without one or the other, I get this huge build-up of confused and jumbled ideas that suddenly overcome me and I just have to write them out in some form (philosophic prose, narrative, poetry, scribbled phrases, etc.). That must be why literature can appear in a multitude of forms: be it poetry or prose, the sonnet or the novel, the sestina or the short story, etc. All literature shares the common theme of the idea. Ideas explore, probe, inquire, and inspire. The reactions to such are all that become a part of the learning process. There is a great deal that literature can teach. Literature can teach to the individual and to all of society. It can teach us about the past and the present and even about the future. Subjects can be broad and far-reaching, but can also be specific. Literature teaches us about laughter and love, about remembering and forgetting. It can create emotion and warn us against our many human faults. It can attempt to disprove other ideas or attempt to find truth. I think we are all looking to find truth in some form or another. Oftentimes, the uncertainty of a specific meaning of a piece allows for its interpretation to be for the reader to decide. What is certain, however, is that there are things to be learned from literature that are specific to it, that cannot be attained through any other medium. To gather this knowledge and to experience its beauty all pertain to the importance of literature to me."

—Abby Travis

"Another reason that I enjoy reading so much is the places you can go to when you read. I know that that sounds pretty corny, like something on a PBS commercial, but I feel that there are a vast amount of experiences and people the reader gets to encounter in any work of literature."

—Stefan Kolis

"Although I concede that it is not absolutely necessary to major in English in order to gain perspective from literature, I feel that English is a good lens through which to view the world, both present and past. When I study a great work of literature, I not only gain insight into the universal truth about which the author has chosen to write, but I also, in my attempts to understand, can learn about the culture in which the author lived, the history surrounding the country of his origin, and the various intellectual, political, and artistic movements of the time. Thus the window to humanity that lies at the heart of all literature can act as a sort of connecting portal to the culture surrounding each individual author. The reader stands on the common ground of the universal truth around which a work is constructed – the point at which the reader’s world and the author’s meet – and begins to understand some of the motivations behind the author’s own quest for truth.

Great literature provides its readers with a window into various aspects of the human condition and a guide to the way we, as a species, relate to one another and to our surroundings. Literature gives us a mirror in which to examine our collective reflection as a people. It does not gloss over the pimples and blemishes of humanity, but exposes them quite openly. No concealer, no cover-up, only the truth. Literature is the reflecting pool into which every person that ever existed can look and see both his own face and the faces of all his fellow people. It enables each human to not only find the humanity within his own heart but also to connect him to the generations of other people who have been doing so since the beginning of time."

—Rebekah Schulz

Department of English Language and Literature, The University of Chicago

Why Study Literature?

Serious intellectual endeavor starts with passion and curiosity. The Department of English is a place where faculty and students intensely discuss what they love—novels, poems, plays, paintings, films, comics, video games, and other art forms—along with theoretical and philosophical questions related to the study of literature and culture.

As part of a course of intensive study, these conversations spark immediate intellectual excitement while building toward the larger end of a liberal education.  Through the wide variety of literary-critical approaches they encounter in classes, English majors cultivate the analytical capacities that will continue to serve them in their personal and professional lives long after graduation.

Studying English at the University of Chicago is very much like attending a liberal arts college: most courses are small, discussion-based classes, and professors, along with graduate student teaching assistants and preceptors, closely mentor undergraduate students’ writing and intellectual development. At the same time, our undergraduates enjoy the intellectual benefits associated with studying at a major research university. Undergraduate majors can take some of their classes alongside graduate students, and all students learn cutting-edge scholarship that has expanded the boundaries of the field from professors with international reputations.

The mission of the Department of English undergraduate curriculum is to provide students with a thorough grounding in humanistic knowledge. Our students analyze fundamental questions about such topics as the formal qualities of individual works and literary genres, the status of literature within culture, the achievements of a particular author, the methods of literary scholarship and research, and the application of theory to literature. The department is also an intellectual melting pot: classes in everything from Medieval Epic to Shakespeare to Radical Documentary to the Literature of 9/11 accommodate majors and non-majors with a large range of interests across methodologies and disciplines. Drawing on the interdisciplinary tradition of the University of Chicago, the department encourages our students to integrate the concerns of other fields into their English studies and therefore maintains close links with the Committee on Creative Writing, Cinema and Media Studies, and TAPS (Theater and Performance Studies), along with other academic programs.

Major and Minor

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Just Declared an English Major?

For those who have recently declared a major in English, congratulations! To get introduced to the department and our program requirements, please contact the Student Affairs Administrator, Anna Dobrowolski. Please also subscribe to the following UChicago email lists at lists.uchicago.edu to receive important departmental information:

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  • [email protected] : For updates on departmental deadlines, courses, requirements, etc.
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The Role of Literature in Education: Why It Matters

Esther Lombardi

Literature is more than just entertainment or a way to pass the time. It can shape our perspectives, challenge our beliefs, and inspire us to brood over the world. Literature is a valuable tool for developing critical thinking skills, empathy, and creativity in education. This post will explore why literature matters and how it can benefit students of all ages.

Literature Promotes Critical Thinking Skills

Reading literature requires active engagement and analysis, which helps develop critical thinking skills. When students read literature, they are forced to think deeply about the characters, themes, and messages presented in the text. They must analyze the author’s choices and consider how they contribute to the work’s overall meaning. Critical thinking is essential for success in many areas of life, including academics, careers, and personal relationships. Literature helps students become more thoughtful and independent thinkers by promoting critical thinking skills.

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Literature helps develop empathy and understanding.

Besides critical thinking skills, literature also helps students develop empathy and understanding. Through reading about characters from different backgrounds and experiences, students can gain a deeper understanding of the world around them. They can learn to see things from different perspectives and develop greater empathy for others. This is important in today’s diverse and interconnected world, where understanding and empathy are essential for building strong relationships and communities. By exposing students to a wide range of literature, educators can help foster a more compassionate and understanding society.

Literature Encourages Creativity and Imagination

Reading literature can spark creativity and imagination in students. By exposing them to different styles of writing, unique characters, and imaginative worlds, literature can inspire students to think outside the box and develop their creative ideas. This is important in a world where we value innovation and creativity. By encouraging students to read and engage with literature, educators can help foster a generation of creative thinkers and problem solvers.

Literature Provides a Window Into Different Cultures and Perspectives

One of the most critical roles of literature in education is its ability to provide a window into different cultures and perspectives. By reading literature from different parts of the world, students can better understand the experiences and perspectives of people from different backgrounds. This can help to promote empathy and understanding and can also help to break down stereotypes and prejudices. This is an essential skill for students to develop in a world that is becoming increasingly diverse.

Literature Can Inspire Personal Growth and Self-Reflection

Literature has the power to inspire personal growth and self-reflection in students. By reading about characters who face challenges and overcome them, students can learn valuable lessons about resilience, perseverance, and the importance of a positive attitude. Literature can help students reflect on their own experiences and emotions and provide a safe space to explore complex topics and feelings. This can be important for students who may not have access to other forms of emotional support or therapy.

Esther Lombardi

Esther A. Lombardi is a freelance writer and journalist with more than two decades of experience writing for an array of publications, online and offline. She also has a master's degree in English Literature with a background in Web Technology and Journalism. 

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Why You Need to Read Literature

College is full of books: textbooks and biographies, encyclopedias and novels, history books and essays. You finish your Epic of Gilgamesh book report and skim your way through the Iliad ; guzzle down Plato’s Republic and then delve into a worn and weary biology textbook. So it goes.

Amid all the reading and writing, something within us often dies. Somewhere between the physics homework and the paper on Theodore Roosevelt and imperialism, you can lose an imaginative, creative spark.

It’s possible to reenergize this spark via several creative disciplines: by playing a musical instrument, for instance, or through sketching, painting, baking, or writing poetry . But there is another important and easy way to reawaken the dying embers of a creative spirit: by reading literature.

Reading “for pleasure” is an easy habit to neglect. There’s so much to read, after all; your assigned reading list seems to extend into eternity, promising sleepless nights and a desperate caffeine craving.

But you need literature—regardless of major, and apart from all the nonfiction reading that fills our college years.

Literature Reveals Reality and Mystery

Famed Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor once wrote , “The type of mind that can understand good fiction is … the kind of mind that is willing to have its sense of mystery deepened by contact with reality, and its sense of reality deepened by contact with mystery.”

I recently read a passage that beautifully illustrates this truth—in Dunbar , Edward St. Aubyn’s new adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic King Lear :

He found that the more resolutely he narrowed his field of vision, the more complexity seemed to emerge from it: the gray rocks on the edge of the path were covered in patches of white and acid green lichen, and where water gathered in cracks and hollows there were pockets of dark velvety moss. The broken rock on the path itself showed traces of rusty red and sometimes the momentary glitter of crystal. Like a child on the beach, he wanted to pick up the smooth stone with a white mineral vein encircling its dark surface, but he knew there would be no one to show it to. By the time he reached the stream, he no longer felt protected by his downward gaze; on the contrary, it seemed to be drawing him into a vertigo of detail, a microscopic world that he didn’t need a microscope to imagine, where every patch of lichen was a strangely colored forest of spores, their trunks rearing from the stony planet on which they lived.

Dunbar’s narration of detail and complexity in a country scene draws us in and offers us new vision. The passage is replete with realistic detail, but within that realism we discover depth and curiosity, fear and awe. In a biology class, you may learn all about plant and water life, about moss and lichen. But do you truly see them without also considering the mysterious intricacy of their private universe? This is what St. Aubyn tempts us to consider in Dunbar —what O’Connor identifies as the essential purpose of art, and therefore also of fiction.

Works of literature wake us up, committing our tepid bodies to an unexpected plunge into frigid water. We emerge eyes stinging, blood coursing, fully alive. We don’t return to our studies—or our lives—the same.

“Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches.” Thus Nora Zeale Hurston introduces her protagonist in Their Eyes Were Watching God , a stunning and glorious work of literature.

Textbooks can give you meaning and meat. But they can’t give you potency. They can’t give you these tantalizing layers of reality and mystery. That is what literature is for.

As Marilynne Robinson puts it in her Pulitzer Prize winner , Gilead : “It has seemed to me sometimes as though the Lord breathes on this poor gray ember of Creation and it turns to radiance. … Wherever you turn your eyes the world can shine like transfiguration. You don’t have to bring a thing to it except a little willingness to see. Only, who could have the courage to see it?” Sometimes literature offers us both vision and the courage—if we’re willing to commit ourselves to the text.

Literature Inspires

There were times during college when writer’s block threatened me with failing grades or missed deadlines. Scrambling for inspiration, I’d pick up a book—perhaps something I was reading for Western Lit, or a book I’d perused during Christmas break—and suddenly an idea would jump out of the text. Anna Karenina offered the perfect foil for a philosophy paper, Joseph Conrad suggested a new connection with Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan . For the student, literature offers new ways of seeing academic principles and ideas: it can often suggest ways to recast the drabness of data and argument into flesh and blood, plot and drama.

But literature doesn’t just inspire our intellect: it can also offer new insights into our emotional and spiritual lives. Dostoevsky’s characters offer heroic inspiration (and fearful admonition). John Steinbeck carries us through darkness and dread into the promise of redemption. Frodo Baggins’s self-sacrificial journey, Harry Potter’s dark premonitions of doom, Ender Wiggins’s battle with self and the other: all offer moments of hope, wonder, and inspiration.

Because our lives seem so boring and prosaic—devoid as they are of Voldemorts and Saurons—we need occasional inspiration. In fact, we need inspiration from Harry and Frodo because our lives so often lack tangible foes or life-and-death scenarios. Because we fail to comprehend our battles in the beige moments of existence, we need the fantastical and fearful to wake us up. Works of literature, by recasting our angels and demons, revive our energy and virtue. As G.K. Chesterton put it, “[Fairy tales] make rivers run with wine only to make us remember, for one wild moment, that they run with water.” 

Writing can also become an exercise in pulling talent and finesse from other authors. Ernest Hemingway teaches us how to write with short, concise strokes. Jane Austen shares wisdom and wit with every paragraph. Toni Morrison weaves poetry into every sentence. By reading these writers, we become better writers ourselves.

Literature Awakens Your Moral Imagination

But why do stories matter? Why are they necessary for a fruitful and artistic life? Why must we seek out more than mere fact and data?

For that answer, we must turn to Russell Kirk. In his classic essay on the moral imagination , Kirk suggests that literature teaches us what it means to be fully human—by instructing its readers in “their true nature, their dignity, and their place in the scheme of things.” From Homer to Hawthorne, Dickens to Dante, classic authors have captured and preserved the essential truths of the human condition in a way that awakens our consciences to truth. “It is the moral imagination which informs us concerning the dignity of human nature, which instructs us that we are more than naked apes,” argues Kirk.

a library filled with books

Of course, not all literature is equal; Kirk suggests that much modern literature feeds the “idyllic imagination,” a sentimental beast that “terminates in disillusion and boredom,” or the “diabolic imagination,” which “delights in the perverse and subhuman.” These things don’t grow our brains or souls; they feed temporal cravings and baser appetites.

The moral imagination, on the other hand, is cultivated by permanent things: by morals and manners, virtue and truth. It’s important to note that Kirk isn’t here calling for preachy literature; indeed, he notes that “the better the artist, one almost may say, the more subtle the preacher. Imaginative persuasion, not blunt exhortation, commonly is the method of the literary champion of norms.”

But books that carry within them such lofty, high ideals can’t help but leave an impression on the reader; they guide our behavior, lifting us out of ourselves and setting us on a wider sphere of understanding. “Sheer experience, as Franklin suggested, is the teacher of born fools,” writes Kirk. “Our lives are too brief and confused for most men to develop any normative pattern from their private experience … therefore we turn to the bank and capital of the ages, the normative knowledge found in revelation, authority, and historical experience, if we seek guidance in morals, taste, and politics.”

Perhaps the perfect example of a world rooted only in private experience comes (not necessarily ironically) from literature itself: from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World . Huxley describes a society that has locked up and forgotten its works of literature and philosophy, and instead occupies itself by seeking out momentary pleasures and sexual satisfaction. For these citizens, there’s no profounder inquiry, no deeper meaning in life.

Into this dystopian landscape emerges “the Savage,” a young man who was raised in the wilds of the West and upholds a handful of ancient volumes as his tutors. He quotes Shakespeare and the Bible and strives to live out gentlemanly norms. He’s thwarted at every turn by a culture that no longer understands virtue or heroism, until he finally succumbs to despair.

This is what life without the moral imagination looks like. “If we starve young people for imagination, adventure, and some sort of heroism,” warns Kirk, their moral core will wither and perish. As O’Connor points out, works that offer fantasy and mystery draw our souls to the unknown and eternal. Heroic novels inspire our souls to courage. All that they teach us is real, fictional though the stories may be.

“Fiction is truer than fact,” writes Kirk. “In great fiction we obtain the distilled wisdom of men of genius, understandings of human nature which we could attain—if at all—unaided by books, only at the end of life, after numberless painful experiences.”

In other words, literature teaches us wisdom. And that wisdom is hard-bought if built solely in isolation.

Literature Is Just Plain Fun

A final, necessary note: literature is delightful. It’s wondrous, exciting, and often terrifying fun. It offers us escape without the cost of a plane ticket, adventure without deadlines or endpoints. It’s spontaneous and soul-searching, lengthy and pointed, poignant and hilarious. Some literary works speak to us collectively, with a wisdom that’s been handed down through the ages. Others offer personal admonition and inspiration, bringing our brains and eyes out of muddled exhaustion into new clarity.

So we shouldn’t read just to be “edified,” to find inspiration or to “get something” out of the text. We should read for its own sake: read to discover the delights of a new story. We should leave our presumptions and predictions on the frontispiece, and abandon everything to the text. We won’t be disappointed.

But How Do You Find Time to Read?

It is, admittedly, difficult to read “for its own sake” as a college student. Beyond assigned texts (which are often skimmed in haste), we have little time to pick up large volumes by the likes of Tolstoy or Steinbeck.

But semester breaks offer opportunities for literary retreat. You could try to read a fantasy series (like The Lord of the Rings or C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy ) over Christmas break, pick up a Hemingway novel during Thanksgiving, or a Donna Tartt novel during the summer.

It’s also worth trying out audiobooks, via Audible or other platforms. Audible creates reading opportunities during road trips, grocery-store runs, or long plane rides home for the holidays. You can “read” audiobooks during walks to and from classes, workouts, or right before bed.

Reading literature is difficult during college but not impossible. What’s more, it’s worth all the work and commitment—for its own sake, as well as for the various lessons and inspirations it offers. Long after you’ve forgotten the equations and dates, data points and definitions, that filled your college years, the stories you read will remain: nurturing and growing both soul and imagination. 

Gracy Olmstead is a writer and journalist located outside Washington, D.C. She’s written for The American Conservative, The Week, National Review, The Federalist, and The Washington Times, among others.

Complement with Russell Kirk on the true purpose of a liberal arts education , Jessica Hooten Wilson on what Flannery O’Connor’s stories reveal about politics today , and what “beauty will save the world” means according to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. 

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Using Literature in the Classroom

benefit of literature to you as a student

In today’s technology-filled world, where 140 character limits are the norm, is there any place for long, old-fashioned novels in the classroom?

There are a number of reasons why English teachers are turning back to literature as a way to develop students’ reading skill:

  • As most English language literature is written for native speakers, it prepares learners for the types of language they will have to read and understand in the real world.
  • It encourages students to communicate with others, by sharing their thoughts and feelings about the story.
  • Students engage with the attitudes and opinions expressed by the author or the characters. This helps students to develop their sense of self, their moral code, and their understanding of the world.
  • Exposure to non-standard forms of English (as is often found in novels) can help students to recognize norms and patterns.
  • Books written by popular authors will likely be more interesting and engaging than texts in language course books, no matter how much effort is put into writing them.
  • Literature is motivating, as finishing a book is a real achievement for language learners.

Most importantly, by fostering a love of reading from a young age, students become independent learners who, whenever they pick up a book to read for pleasure, are actually improving their language skills more than any homework task could.

On our young learner holiday courses at the British Council, we weave literature into a course which promotes a range of skills. The book we are using for our up-coming courses is ‘The BFG’ by Roald Dahl. His weird and fantastical novels are the perfect starting point for your child to explore the English language as well as develop a love of reading.

If you’d like to learn more about our holiday courses, please contact us at +60 (0)3 2723 7900

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1 What Is Literature and Why Do We Study It?

benefit of literature to you as a student

In this book created for my English 211 Literary Analysis introductory course for English literature and creative writing majors at the College of Western Idaho, I’ll introduce several different critical approaches that literary scholars may use to answer these questions.  The critical method we apply to a text can provide us with different perspectives as we learn to interpret a text and appreciate its meaning and beauty.

The existence of literature, however we define it, implies that we study literature. While people have been “studying” literature as long as literature has existed, the formal study of literature as we know it in college English literature courses began in the 1940s with the advent of New Criticism. The New Critics were formalists with a vested interest in defining literature–they were, after all, both creating and teaching about literary works. For them, literary criticism was, in fact, as John Crowe Ransom wrote in his 1942 essay “ Criticism, Inc., ” nothing less than “the business of literature.”

Responding to the concern that the study of literature at the university level was often more concerned with the history and life of the author than with the text itself, Ransom responded, “the students of the future must be permitted to study literature, and not merely about literature. But I think this is what the good students have always wanted to do. The wonder is that they have allowed themselves so long to be denied.”

We’ll learn more about New Criticism in Section Three. For now, let’s return to the two questions I posed earlier.

What is literature?

First, what is literature ? I know your high school teacher told you never to look up things on Wikipedia, but for the purposes of literary studies, Wikipedia can actually be an effective resource. You’ll notice that I link to Wikipedia articles occasionally in this book. Here’s how Wikipedia defines literature :

“ Literature  is any collection of  written  work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an  art  form, especially  prose   fiction ,  drama , and  poetry . [1]  In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include  oral literature , much of which has been transcribed. [2] Literature is a method of recording, preserving, and transmitting knowledge and entertainment, and can also have a social, psychological, spiritual, or political role.”

This definition is well-suited for our purposes here because throughout this course, we will be considering several types of literary texts in a variety of contexts.

I’m a Classicist—a student of Greece and Rome and everything they touched—so I am always interested in words with Latin roots. The Latin root of our modern word literature  is  litera , or “letter.” Literature, then, is inextricably intertwined with the act of writing. But what kind of writing?

Who decides which texts are “literature”?

The second question is at least as important as the first one. If we agree that literature is somehow special and different from ordinary writing, then who decides which writings count as literature? Are English professors the only people who get to decide? What qualifications and training does someone need to determine whether or not a text is literature? What role do you as the reader play in this decision about a text?

Let’s consider a few examples of things that we would all probably classify as literature. I think we can all (probably) agree that the works of William Shakespeare are literature. We can look at Toni Morrison’s outstanding ouvre of work and conclude, along with the Nobel Prize Committee, that books such as Beloved   and  Song of Solomon   are literature. And if you’re taking a creative writing course and have been assigned the short stories of Raymond Carver or the poems of Joy Harjo , you’re probably convinced that these texts are literature too.

In each of these three cases, a different “deciding” mechanism is at play. First, with Shakespeare, there’s history and tradition. These plays that were written 500 years ago are still performed around the world and taught in high school and college English classes today. It seems we have consensus about the tragedies, histories, comedies, and sonnets of the Bard of Avon (or whoever wrote the plays).

In the second case, if you haven’t heard of Toni Morrison (and I am very sorry if you haven’t), you probably have heard of the Nobel Prize. This is one of the most prestigious awards given in literature, and since she’s a winner, we can safely assume that Toni Morrison’s works are literature.

Finally, your creative writing professor is an expert in their field. You know they have an MFA (and worked hard for it), so when they share their favorite short stories or poems with you, you trust that they are sharing works considered to be literature, even if you haven’t heard of Raymond Carver or Joy Harjo before taking their class.

(Aside: What about fanfiction? Is fanfiction literature?)

We may have to save the debate about fan fiction for another day, though I introduced it because there’s some fascinating and even literary award-winning fan fiction out there.

Returning to our question, what role do we as readers play in deciding whether something is literature? Like John Crowe Ransom quoted above, I think that the definition of literature should depend on more than the opinions of literary critics and literature professors.

I also want to note that contrary to some opinions, plenty of so-called genre fiction can also be classified as literature. The Nobel Prize winning author Kazuo Ishiguro has written both science fiction and historical fiction. Iain Banks , the British author of the critically acclaimed novel The Wasp Factory , published popular science fiction novels under the name Iain M. Banks. In other words, genre alone can’t tell us whether something is literature or not.

In this book, I want to give you the tools to decide for yourself. We’ll do this by exploring several different critical approaches that we can take to determine how a text functions and whether it is literature. These lenses can reveal different truths about the text, about our culture, and about ourselves as readers and scholars.

“Turf Wars”: Literary criticism vs. authors

It’s important to keep in mind that literature and literary theory have existed in conversation with each other since Aristotle used Sophocles’s play Oedipus Rex to define tragedy. We’ll look at how critical theory and literature complement and disagree with each other throughout this book. For most of literary history, the conversation was largely a friendly one.

But in the twenty-first century, there’s a rising tension between literature and criticism. In his 2016 book Literature Against Criticism: University English and Contemporary Fiction in Conflict, literary scholar Martin Paul Eve argues that twenty-first century authors have developed

a series of novelistic techniques that, whether deliberate or not on the part of the author, function to outmanoeuvre, contain, and determine academic reading practices. This desire to discipline university English through the manipulation and restriction of possible hermeneutic paths is, I contend, a result firstly of the fact that the metafictional paradigm of the high-postmodern era has pitched critical and creative discourses into a type of productive competition with one another. Such tensions and overlaps (or ‘turf wars’) have only increased in light of the ongoing breakdown of coherent theoretical definitions of ‘literature’ as distinct from ‘criticism’ (15).

One of Eve’s points is that by narrowly and rigidly defining the boundaries of literature, university English professors have inadvertently created a situation where the market increasingly defines what “literature” is, despite the protestations of the academy. In other words, the gatekeeper role that literary criticism once played is no longer as important to authors. For example, (almost) no one would call 50 Shades of Grey literature—but the salacious E.L James novel was the bestselling book of the decade from 2010-2019, with more than 35 million copies sold worldwide.

If anyone with a blog can get a six-figure publishing deal , does it still matter that students know how to recognize and analyze literature? I think so, for a few reasons.

  • First, the practice of reading critically helps you to become a better reader and writer, which will help you to succeed not only in college English courses but throughout your academic and professional career.
  • Second, analysis is a highly sought after and transferable skill. By learning to analyze literature, you’ll practice the same skills you would use to analyze anything important. “Data analyst” is one of the most sought after job positions in the New Economy—and if you can analyze Shakespeare, you can analyze data. Indeed.com’s list of top 10 transferable skills includes analytical skills , which they define as “the traits and abilities that allow you to observe, research and interpret a subject in order to develop complex ideas and solutions.”
  • Finally, and for me personally, most importantly, reading and understanding literature makes life make sense. As we read literature, we expand our sense of what is possible for ourselves and for humanity. In the challenges we collectively face today, understanding the world and our place in it will be important for imagining new futures.

A note about using generative artificial intelligence

As I was working on creating this textbook, ChatGPT exploded into academic consciousness. Excited about the possibilities of this new tool, I immediately began incorporating it into my classroom teaching. In this book, I have used ChatGPT to help me with outlining content in chapters. I also used ChatGPT to create sample essays for each critical lens we will study in the course. These essays are dry and rather soulless, but they do a good job of modeling how to apply a specific theory to a literary text. I chose John Donne’s poem “The Canonization” as the text for these essays so that you can see how the different theories illuminate different aspects of the text.

I encourage students in my courses to use ChatGPT in the following ways:

  • To generate ideas about an approach to a text.
  • To better understand basic concepts.
  • To assist with outlining an essay.
  • To check grammar, punctuation, spelling, paragraphing, and other grammar/syntax issues.

If you choose to use Chat GPT, please include a brief acknowledgment statement as an appendix to your paper after your Works Cited page explaining how you have used the tool in your work. Here is an example of how to do this from Monash University’s “ Acknowledging the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence .”

I acknowledge the use of [insert AI system(s) and link] to [specific use of generative artificial intelligence]. The prompts used include [list of prompts]. The output from these prompts was used to [explain use].

Here is more information about how to cite the use of generative AI like ChatGPT in your work. The information below was adapted from “Acknowledging and Citing Generative AI in Academic Work” by Liza Long (CC BY 4.0).

The Modern Language Association (MLA) uses a template of core elements to create citations for a Works Cited page. MLA  asks students to apply this approach when citing any type of generative AI in their work. They provide the following guidelines:

Cite a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it. Acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words) in a note, your text, or another suitable location. Take care to vet the secondary sources it cites. (MLA)

Here are some examples of how to use and cite generative AI with MLA style:

Example One: Paraphrasing Text

Let’s say that I am trying to generate ideas for a paper on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” I ask ChatGPT to provide me with a summary and identify the story’s main themes. Here’s a  link to the chat . I decide that I will explore the problem of identity and self-expression in my paper.

My Paraphrase of ChatGPT with In-Text Citation

The problem of identity and self expression, especially for nineteenth-century women, is a major theme in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (“Summarize the short story”).

Image of "Yellow Wallpaper Summary" chat with ChatGPT

Works Cited Entry

“Summarize the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Include a breakdown of the main themes” prompt.  ChatGPT.  24 May Version, OpenAI, 20 Jul. 2023,  https://chat.openai.com/share/d1526b95-920c-48fc-a9be-83cd7dfa4be5 

Example Two: Quoting Text

In the same chat, I continue to ask ChatGPT about the theme of identity and self expression. Here’s an example of how I could quote the response in the body of my paper:

When I asked  ChatGPT  to describe the theme of identity and self expression, it noted that the eponymous yellow wallpaper acts as a symbol of the narrator’s self-repression. However, when prompted to share the scholarly sources that formed the basis of this observation,  ChatGPT  responded, “As an AI language model, I don’t have access to my training data, but I was trained on a mixture of licensed data, data created by human trainers, and publicly available data. OpenAI, the organization behind my development, has not publicly disclosed the specifics of the individual datasets used, including whether scholarly sources were specifically used” (“Summarize the short story”).

It’s worth noting here that ChatGPT can “ hallucinate ” fake sources. As a Microsoft training manual notes, these chatbots are “built to be persuasive, not truthful” (Weiss &Metz, 2023). The May 24, 2023 version will no longer respond to direct requests for references; however, I was able to get around this restriction fairly easily by asking for “resources” instead.

When I ask for resources to learn more about “The Yellow Wallpaper,” here is one source it recommends:

“Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper: A Symptomatic Reading” by Elaine R. Hedges: This scholarly article delves into the psychological and feminist themes of the story, analyzing the narrator’s experience and the implications of the yellow wallpaper on her mental state. It’s available in the journal “Studies in Short Fiction.” (“Summarize the short story”).

Using Google Scholar, I look up this source to see if it’s real. Unsurprisingly, this source is not a real one, but it does lead me to another (real) source: Kasmer, Lisa. “Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s’ The Yellow Wallpaper’: A Symptomatic Reading.”  Literature and Psychology  36.3 (1990): 1.

Note: ALWAYS check any sources that ChatGPT or other generative AI tools recommend.

For more information about integrating and citing generative artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, please see this section of  Write What Matters.

I acknowledge that ChatGPT does not respect the individual rights of authors and artists and ignores concerns over copyright and intellectual property in its training; additionally, I acknowledge that the system was trained in part through the exploitation of precarious workers in the global south. In this work I specifically used ChatGPT to assist with outlining chapters, providing background information about critical lenses, and creating “model” essays for the critical lenses we will learn about together. I have included links to my chats in an appendix to this book.

Critical theories: A targeted approach to writing about literature

Ultimately, there’s not one “right” way to read a text. In this book. we will explore a variety of critical theories that scholars use to analyze literature. The book is organized around different targets that are associated with the approach introduced in each chapter. In the introduction, for example, our target is literature. In future chapters you’ll explore these targeted analysis techniques:

  • Author: Biographical Criticism
  • Text: New Criticism
  • Reader: Reader Response Criticism
  • Gap: Deconstruction (Post-Structuralism)
  • Context: New Historicism and Cultural Studies
  • Power: Marxist and Postcolonial Criticism
  • Mind: Psychological Criticism
  • Gender: Feminist, Post Feminist, and Queer Theory
  • Nature: Ecocriticism

Each chapter will feature the target image with the central approach in the center. You’ll read a brief introduction about the theory, explore some primary texts (both critical and literary), watch a video, and apply the theory to a primary text. Each one of these theories could be the subject of its own entire course, so keep in mind that our goal in this book is to introduce these theories and give you a basic familiarity with these tools for literary analysis. For more information and practice, I recommend Steven Lynn’s excellent Texts and Contexts: Writing about Literature with Critical Theory , which provides a similar introductory framework.

I am so excited to share these tools with you and see you grow as a literary scholar. As we explore each of these critical worlds, you’ll likely find that some critical theories feel more natural or logical to you than others. I find myself much more comfortable with deconstruction than with psychological criticism, for example. Pay attention to how these theories work for you because this will help you to expand your approaches to texts and prepare you for more advanced courses in literature.

P.S. If you want to know what my favorite book is, I usually tell people it’s Herman Melville’s Moby Dick . And I do love that book! But I really have no idea what my “favorite” book of all time is, let alone what my favorite book was last year. Every new book that I read is a window into another world and a template for me to make sense out of my own experience and better empathize with others. That’s why I love literature. I hope you’ll love this experience too.

writings in prose or verse, especially :  writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest (Merriam Webster)

Critical Worlds Copyright © 2024 by Liza Long is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Five Reasons to Study Literature

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Why Write About Literature?

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  • Tanya Long Bennett
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The odds are high that even though you are using this textbook for a first year English composition class, you are not an English major. Probably, you are required to take this course as part of your first year of college coursework to sharpen your writing, research, argument, and thinking skills so that in future classes, and later in your life, these proficiencies will serve you well in accomplishing important tasks. A study of rhetoric , the art of persuasion, can help you refine your ability to influence others, through both writing and speaking. With these goals in mind, it may seem odd that this first year composition book is filled with poetry, short stories, and plays, and even includes discussion of literary devices, like rhyme and rhythm, metaphor, and point of view! Yet, many English instructors do, indeed, choose to teach at least one semester of first year composition in the context of literary studies.

Why do they do this? Do they enjoy watching you squirm as you struggle to find the meaning in a line of Shakespeare’s poetry? Probably not. There are a couple of other important reasons that are much more pivotal to the content choice of your instructor—let’s call him Dr. Lopez—than his desire to bedevil you.

Most likely, Dr. Lopez feels that literature is the best context for your writing this semester because

  • He is better able to evaluate the effectiveness of your compositions if they are written on a topic with which he has some expertise. If you wrote a paper arguing for the superiority of one cancer treatment over another, he would certainly be able to test the validity of your logic and the clarity of your presentation. However, he might not feel comfortable judging whether current cancer research supports your stance. After following your research process all semester, he might become familiar with the sources you employed in your paper, but he would still lack knowledge of the general body of research on this subject. On the other hand, if you write your essay on how, in the poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” Dylan Thomas illustrates his speaker’s fear of his own death, Dr. Lopez is on much firmer ground. Since he is an expert on twentieth century British literature, and happens to have earned a master’s degree in twentieth century world literature, not only can he see the gaps in your argument, but he can also guide you toward sources that could help fill in those gaps. The resulting student papers written as a product of Dr. Lopez’s literature-focused class will likely be more valid than if he had chosen a topic less familiar to him.
  • Further, he believes that no matter what content a professor uses for this course, students should be improving their understanding of how language makes meaning. What better context for pursuing this goal than a discipline in which words are the subject? In writing your paper on Thomas’s poem, you will not only be practicing your skills in research, argument, organization, grammar, and documentation, but you will also be learning, from Thomas himself (among other authors), how words can be used rhetorically to persuade one’s reader toward a particular perspective.
  • Literature is a fruitful context in which to practice supporting an argument with textual evidence. Periodically, in one of my upper level English literature classes, I encounter a pre-law student who is required to take my class as part of her pre-law curriculum. If this policy at first seems odd, closer examination reveals its logic. In a court of law, attorneys spend much of their time referring to the language of particular laws and drawing the jury’s attention to specific pieces of evidence—often from reports, letters, interview transcripts, and previous cases. The first time I served on a jury, I was fascinated to see how much the trial’s structure—with the lawyers’ opening remarks, their back-and-forth examination of evidence and witnesses, and their closing remarks—resembled that of an argumentative essay. I was gratified to witness their constant references to written texts as evidence supporting their positions, either as prosecutor or defender.
  • In spite of all the poems, stories, and dramas on Dr. Lopez’s syllabus, make no mistake—his purpose is to help you improve your writing. In particular, such a course focuses on the rhetorical skills that will aid you in making successful arguments based on convincing and well-presented evidence. Of course, here, the term argument does not necessarily mean heated debate, but rather refers to the case a writer makes in defending a specific perspective. If most readers have assumed that “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is a simple expression of the speaker’s sorrow about his father’s impending death, your essay might convince those readers that a better understanding of the poem comes with recognition of the speaker’s anxiety about death in general, which includes the speaker’s fear of his own demise. As you practice constructing a strong case for your interpretation of a literary work, you will be building skills that help produce effective writing in any context.

I hope that in the process of reading closely and critically, gathering evidence, working through various paths of thought, researching secondary sources, organizing ideas into logical arguments, and revising your writing for the greatest impact, you will also enjoy the literature you read in this class. When students write about something that truly interests them, the product is almost always better than if a writer has simply “jumped through the hoops.” Look for works in this volume that explore issues and themes you care about. This should help make the semester an engaging and enjoyable one, for both you and Dr. Lopez!

The Classroom | Empowering Students in Their College Journey

What Are the Benefits of English Literature?

Satire in English Literature

Satire in English Literature

Studying the literature of the English language can enrich our lives in ways we never imagined. Beyond the simple entertainment of a good story, readers stand to gain compassion for a wide range of people across cultures and time periods. In addition, sustained immersion in the literary arts as a whole results in a richer vocabulary and a certain ease and confidence when the reader approaches the practice of composition.

Historical Perspective

Care to guess what keeps the work of William Shakespeare in perennial production? The plays written by the world's most famous playwright grapple with the timeless themes of betrayal, hunger for political power and the complicated dance of romantic love. In this rapidly evolving high-tech world, there is something deeply comforting about the fact that after 500 years, some things seem fixed and steady. In Shakespeare's own words, "What's past is prologue."

Human Diversity

What a sad state of affairs it would be if one relied exclusively on the local broadcast news and "reality" TV to paint a picture of human civilization. Popular culture tends to celebrate three things: youth, beauty and the grotesque. Simply put, people need an antidote to the sensational to stay sane. Literature provides that by showcasing characters with seemingly rarefied traits such as modesty and humility. For example, Charles Dickens' Joe Gargery proves that a simple blacksmith can be a hero in "Great Expectations."

Cultural Understanding

For nonnative English speakers, studying literature — as with the study of English art, philosophy and economics — gives the amateur anthropologist a window to the soul of English culture and customs. Indeed, the uptight social conventions of Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" speaks volumes when the character of Mrs. Chevely says, "Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike." The comedic irreverence of modern British television shows (such as the iconic "Monty Python") makes a lot more sense when one is aware of the social oppression that served as its breeding ground.

Improved Writing

In his 1992 film "Husbands and Wives," Woody Allen's character Gabe, a college professor, famously says of his craft, "You can't teach writing. You expose students to good work and hope it inspires them." There is some truth here. In fact, many would argue quite heartily that there is no better teacher for those wishing to write well in English than the body of work known as the English literary canon. Reading great literature improves one's skills as a writer.

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  • "What's past is prologue."
  • "Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike."
  • Reading to be a better writer
  • You can't teach writing. You expose students...
  • Joe Gargery

Stacy Smith is a writer based in Austin, Texas. She hold a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in theater. She has post-graduate training in curriculum and instruction.

benefit of literature to you as a student

Benefits of studying English Literature

Benefits studying English Literature

7 Benefits of studying English Literature

While many students go for English Literature as their degree, they learn various literary movements, periods and approaches that have been shaped in a way that we all view literature in today’s world. English Literature studies give an opportunity to discover how literature makes sense through a series of novels, plays and poems.  Learning English Literature opens the gateways to a whole new world of creativity and inspiration. Are you thinking to opt for English Literature for further studies? In this article, we have listed a few benefits of studying English Literature.

1. Literature teaches about the past

Just like History records the past, in the same way Literature reflects mankind at any point in time. While studying Literature, historical knowledge is revealed that helps students gain perspective of different cultures. History comes to life while studying English Literature, it awakens one’s imaginations and it also helps combine literature’s past portrayals with ordinary lives. It also helps students to understand different viewpoints.

2. Improves communication skills

The easiest way to improve writing, speaking skills and vocabulary is to study Literature. Good communication skills are the key in every aspect of life be it your personal life or career. Having good communication skills goes beyond just writing, it goes into regular conversations and interactions with all sorts of people. Exposure to Literature at a young age allows people to develop good communication skills and it also helps in improving their abilities through more reading.

3. Literature teaches you about yourself

Literature is full of all kinds of characters and human reactions, which helps students in understanding human nature. Poems, essays, plays, novels and narratives bridge the gap of time as students get to explore the hidden context messages that hold something meaningful and numerous lessons on life. This also helps Literature students become more aware of today’s problems.

4. Literature encourages critical thinking

Critical thinking is an essential part of life as it allows people to work through their problems. Studying Literature is the perfect opportunity to develop these skills. While studying Literature, the students must concentrate on every detail, pick up on even the smallest detail provided, form their own opinions and make connections as to what is happening in the novel. This helps them understand better and gives them tools and ideas that will be fruitful in the future.

5. Expands vocabulary

Unlike magazines or books, Literature contains vocabulary that may seem challenging to some students but as the person goes on to read such complex books, they only broaden their knowledge of new words and phrases. It also helps those people who are trying to learn a new language, literature helps them in enhancing their skills as they come across language that may seem unfamiliar to them.

6. Keeps the brain active and healthy

Reading has some amazing powerful effects on our brain which we should not ignore. As reading Literature books stretches our imagination, it also helps to improve our concentration levels, it forms mental stimulation which is great for our brain. The brain is a muscle which needs exercise like any other part of our body, to keep us active and healthy. Reading strengthens the imaginative parts of the brain which encourages our creativity and innovation.

7. Literature improves concentration and focus

Some people struggle with a short attention span but reading helps improve that function. Reading complex books like Literature can be a bit more challenging, which makes the brain work harder. As the book gets more and more complex, the need for focus increases. Hence, the more a reader engages with Literature, the more their focus tends to grow.

Other than Benefits of studying English Literature, you can also read Benefits of developing reading skills from a young age

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  • 6 Ways Studying Literature Can Improve Your Creative Writing Skills

benefit of literature to you as a student

You wouldn’t think much of a film director who’d never watched a movie, or a stand-up comedian who’d never been to a comedy show. But there are still some aspiring writers out there who are under the impression that studying literature, or even just reading widely , will somehow dilute their own voice and work to the detriment of their own writing. That couldn’t be more mistaken. Reading and studying the writing of others – from the greats of literature to pulp fiction – helps to expand the range of your imagination, gives you new ideas, frees you from tired old tropes and lets you write something original and readable.

1. Studying literature helps you imitate the style of others – and develop a style of your own

benefit of literature to you as a student

When you read something you love, especially if it’s written in a distinctive voice, it’s natural to end up echoing it in your own writing – even your own speech – for a while. Nearly any fan of PG Wodehouse will have found themselves inadvertently thinking that something might be a jolly good lark, what ! And reading Jane Austen can have a similar effect, until you end up writing sentences that note, in an ironical tone, that your writing might become quite accomplished, should you only put aside dancing in order to have time and leisure to improve it . And even reading the works writers whose style is less immediately identifiable can lead to their particular quirks and turns of phrase appearing, unconsciously, in your own work. This is one of the tendencies that makes writers shy away from reading the works of others, so that they can retain their own ‘voice’ and not end up picking up the style of the writers they admire. The problem is that this doesn’t help you improve. Mastery as a writer comes when you reach the point that you can choose consciously to switch from one style to another; when you think of great writers with a distinctive style, it isn’t usually the case that they can only write in that style – it’s that they choose to. While you might notice that a writer’s earlier works sound derivative and their later works more original, that’s not typically something that’s achieved by purging all other influences from their surroundings. Instead, this flexibility of style is achieved by consciously studying both your own writing style and that of others. A good warm-up exercise for a writer is to write a scene in the style of different writers – for instance, you could try the spelling-it-all-out approach typically taken by young adult writers, the minimalist style of Ernest Hemingway, the heavy interiority of Virginia Woolf or the clipped short sentence of thriller writers like Lee Child. Some will seem right for one storyline but completely wrong for another. Once you can do this sort of exercise, you’ll be better equipped to figure out what’s right for the story that you want to tell.

2. It introduces you to interesting techniques for telling stories and describing characters

benefit of literature to you as a student

What you might read for fun and what you might read in when studying literature can be quite different. The formal study of literature teaches us about how literature has changed and evolved over time, and why authors in each period adopted particular techniques. For instance, the ponderous description used by many Victorian authors was often motivated by being paid by the word, with characters repeatedly re-introduced because the story might have been serialised over weeks or months, so that all but the keenest readers might have forgotten an early character by the time the story reached its end. Other decisions might have been motivated by something more high-minded, such as the belief by some Modernist writers that fragmented, non-chronological storylines and unreliable narrators better reflected how we really experience the world – seldom knowing everything that’s going on around us – than the fuller explanations and neater resolutions of earlier fiction. As a modern-day writer, you’ll probably draw on these different traditions even if you’re not aware of it; for instance, you might create tension in your storyline with a main character whose perspective is clearly incomplete and flawed, even as you enjoy using a lavish descriptive style to bring a historical setting to life. Studying the works of other writers helps you to understand how these techniques can be used to greatest effect; there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. You might love the way a writer gives you a first impression of a character, and then slowly reveals how mistaken your initial conclusions about them were – borrowing their technique for your own writing isn’t plagiarism, but instead how writers usually learn and develop. And if you do feel concerned about plagiarism, it’s a good idea to have at least some grasp of the history of literature, as it can be very embarrassing to come up with what you think is an astonishingly original idea only to discover that someone very famous already wrote much the same thing, over a hundred years ago.

3. It helps to spark original ideas

benefit of literature to you as a student

Reading widely doesn’t lead to you copying other writers’ ideas. More often, it leads to you having more interesting ideas of your own. Think about the classic format of an elevator pitch for a movie : it’s x meets y . It’s classic fantasy meets a boarding school novel (that’s Harry Potter ); 1984 meets reality TV (that’s The Hunger Games ), Pride and Prejudice meets zombies (that’s – unsurprisingly – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ). TV Tropes has a whole page of these kind of examples for works of literature. None of these lack originality despite wearing their influences on their sleeve. Instead, they benefit from the traditions that they draw on, whether those of the traditions of boarding school novels, of dystopian fiction, or of tongue-in-cheek zombie fiction. Reading more widely and studying literature can help spark similar ideas in you. You might find yourself studying Gothic novels and wondering what it might be like to change some of the variables, whether that’s setting them in the modern day, telling the story from an unusual perspective that’s normally neglected in the genre (such as a parental figure, or a servant), or introducing elements from other compatible genres such as modern horror, high fantasy or science fiction. That’s just one example of a genre, but you can do the same with pretty much any field of literature that you find yourself interested in. There’s also a world out there of works that are consciously derived from classic literature and use that as a springboard for something interesting and fun. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is one example at the lowbrow end of the market, but there are plenty of highbrow examples, from Jean Rhys’s 1966 Wide Sargasso Sea , a response to Jane Eyre , to Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed , a modern retelling of The Tempest . There’s not much difference between setting your story in another author’s existing world and setting in a historical period, and such works can still be hugely meaningful; Wide Sargasso Sea , for instance, uses the context of Jane Eyre for a searing examination of colonialism.

4. It teaches you ways to succeed and pitfalls to avoid

benefit of literature to you as a student

Half the time, when studying literature from the perspective of a writer, you’ll find yourself thinking, “wow, that was great. I’d like to write like that”. The other half of the time, you’ll think, “that was dreadful. I hope I never write anything like that.” The two responses can be equally educational. What seems like a good idea can quickly sour when you see it in practice in someone else’s work; this is particularly true of gimmicks like writing a novel in second person – and it’s much better to discover that when reading someone else’s writing than halfway through producing your own 150,000 word novel, containing many hundreds of pronouns that you’ll now need to revise. One of the questions that the study of literature encourages us to answer is “why is this work good?” or in some cases, “why is it bad?” There’s a lot more to it than this, of course – studying a novel isn’t the same as writing a book review – but the question of what makes great literature great is nonetheless a central one. The answer might be, “it’s great because it explores the interior life of a kind of character who never usually gets this treatment in fiction”, or “it’s great because it’s a story that’s truly inspiring and makes me want to do more with my life”. Once you’ve worked out how it explores that interior life, or what makes it so inspiring, you can apply that understanding to your own work.

5. It helps you avoid misconceptions about what great writers are really like

benefit of literature to you as a student

From a distance, the world of great literature can seem remarkably intimidating – whether that’s leather-bound copies of the Complete Works of Shakespeare, or elegant Penguin Classics of the works of the Brontë sisters, or simply Les Misérables clocking in at four times the length of anything else on your Kindle. And if you never read any of them, then you’ll never lose this mistaken impression, and might well think you’ll never write anything of such weight and importance. But these ideas seldom surviving reading classics of literature, and almost never survive actually studying them. You’ll soon learn to recognise the jokes that Shakespeare crammed into his plays just as much as you’ll admire his use of iambic pentameter, spot the times that Alexandre Dumas wrote a long stretch of dialogue to make the most of being paid by the line, and see where Dickens played up to the sentimentality of Victorian readers. In other words, all of these great writers were human beings dealing with the difficulty of pleasing their audiences and keeping a roof over their heads just like modern writers do. Sometimes that went well; Dumas’ dialogue now reads as enjoyably modern and snappy – and sometimes not so much; as Oscar Wilde said, “One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing.” If you’re prone to feeling depressed that you’ll never write as well as the greats did, reading more widely can help. Instead of Hamlet , try Titus Andronicus , a play so dreadful that some critics insist Shakespeare couldn’t have written it, or try reading the juvenilia of great writers, produced before they hit their stride. Comparing yourself to the best of the best is often disheartening, but it’s useful to remember that even they weren’t that good all the time.

6. It reminds you that reading and writing should be enjoyable

benefit of literature to you as a student

When you’re deep into writing something that’s important to you, it can feel like pressure or work rather than like something that’s fun to do – even more so if you’re not so much writing as struggling to overcome writer’s block. Taking the time to step away from obsessing over your own work to enjoy the work of others can make all the difference in reminding you why the world of literature was something you chose to embrace in the first place. This might be in the form of indulging in a favourite book that you’ve read a dozen times, having a strident debate with your book club about the merits of that week’s pick, or sitting down to read a classic novel and analyse it critically. Whichever way you engage with literature, ensuring that you make time to do that rather than sitting in an echo chamber of your own writing is vital. Ignoring all writing but your own is a sure route to literary cabin fever, not to producing something outstanding. And studying literature is especially rewarding when you have something crucial in common with your literary heroes: that you’re a writer too.

Image credit: Jane Austen ; Charles Dickens ; happy reader ; writer ; leather-bound books ; second happy reader ; reader by candlelight .

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Teaching Language Through Literature: 7 Important Techniques and the Major Benefits

Teaching literature in the target language provides an incredible look at the relationship between language and culture .

Not only does it reveal information about people, history, words and expressions, it also reveals deeper truths about human nature that transcend language barriers.

Plus, including literature in language teaching and learning can help your students’ reading and writing skills, but it can also improve their listening, speaking and critical thinking abilities as well.

Taking an interest in literature with your students will do wonders for their journey to fluency.

So here are seven tips to help you do just that, plus the history and benefits of teaching language through literature.

How to Teach Language Through Literature

1. choose an appropriate book, 2. pre-teach vocabulary for discussing literature, 3. activate students’ prior knowledge, 4. model your process of thinking about literature, 5. play an audio recording of the text, 6. provide discussion questions, 7. allow students to express their own ideas, literature in language teaching and learning, a brief history, the benefits.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Finding the right book is everything!

Take into account your students’ ages, interests, levels and socioeconomic backgrounds. For example, chances are your older teens won’t find much to relate to in a picture book for young children. And if you have a class of students who love sports, they may not be interested in a Victorian romance. But a book about a famous athlete might just do the trick.

So, how exactly do you choose a good book for your class?

In the same way that you choose a good book for yourself— ask for recommendations!

Talk to colleagues and find out what books they’ve found successful in their classrooms. You could also reach out to parents and teachers in the target-language country and solicit their ideas about books that kids or adult learners enjoy.

Another convenient way to find book recommendations is through Goodreads  or Amazon . Both of these popular book recommendation platforms have the option of searching for books in the target language. Results can even be filtered to search specifically for children’s or young adult books if applicable.

Here are a few you might consider for popular languages:

  • Spanish: Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s “La Sombra del Viento”  (The Shadow of the Wind) offers a compelling mystery, with the added bonus of a window on life in 1945 Barcelona. Another great choice is Isabel Allende’s “La Casa de los Espiritus”  (The House of the Spirits) .
  • Chinese:  Younger students will find much to relate to in the portrayal of a group of friends coming of age in Shanghai in Guo Jingming’s “Tiny Times 1.0.” You might also consider Weijia Huang and Ao Qun’s  “Readings in Chinese Culture”   or Jiang Rong’s  “Wolf Totem.”

Give students a repertoire of words for discussing things like genre, symbolism, theme and setting. Once they feel confident about the use of these terms, they can discuss stories in a more meaningful way.

Ask students to write down all the things they know or have heard about the book, the author and/or the historical period.

After, go through these together and share any important info that students didn’t already know. This exercise will provide a relevant context for the book they’re about to read.

While reading the first chapter, do some thinking out loud about the story: “I wonder why the story began that way. I wonder what this character is going to do next.”

By modeling this process in simple language with vocabulary from the book, you can instill confidence in your students to think deeper and have more in-depth discussions about what they read.

You can often find famous books or poetry recorded in the voice of the author, or that of a famous actor.

You can play the recording while students read to help them follow along in the text. Hearing the text read aloud makes the task less arduous and helps with pronunciation.

You could also employ other innovative teaching strategies , such as coupling the text with video clips of the book or poem being performed by actual native speakers of the language.

Formulate   questions that help students get to a deeper understanding of the plot, the characters, the theme and the language employed in the story. The questions should require them to dig deep with examples from the text.

While these questions will be completed or discussed at the end of each chapter/section, feel free to provide them to students ahead of time and go over them together. This will help learners understand what to look for and notice as they read a foreign text.

Don’t just stick to routine question-and-answer activities to get your students to show understanding of the text. Mix it up with activities that spark their creativity. They can share their thoughts on the story or poem by drawing a picture or acting out a scene, for instance.

Like most trends, the use of literature has waxed and waned in language instruction over time.

In the early 1900s, the grammar-translation method reigned supreme. It involved lots of conjugation, rote vocabulary memorization and translation. Literature was simply a vehicle for students to practice their grammar and vocabulary, a place to view authentic examples of sentence structures, verb conjugations and memorized words.

In the mid-1900s, educators became more concerned with developing students’ abilities to communicate. The direct method and the audio-lingual method became more popular. In a classic example of “throwing the baby out with the bath water,” literature disappeared from the curriculum as teachers focused on conversing instead.

The 1960s and ’70s saw the advent of the communicative approach , the favored method in most language classrooms today. As such, we’re seeing a resurgence of literature in our language classrooms.

Three models of literature-based language teaching have been developed, each based on a different and compelling reason for the practice:

  • The Cultural Model: Advocates of this model believe that the value of literature lies in its unique distillation of culture. The language learners read fiction or poetry as part of their instruction about history, politics, social mores and traditions.
  • The Language Model: Because literature is built from language, it opens a path for students to construct their own understanding of words and phrases. Here, reading is of value for the same reason it’s valuable in a student’s native language—it gives them tools for more effective communication.
  • The Personal Growth Model: In this model, the focus is on engagement. Teachers use literature to help students understand themselves better and connect with the world around them in a deeper way by exploring universal themes.

To reap the full benefits of literature in the classroom, you can certainly combine all three models. Language, culture and personal growth are intrinsically connected, and it makes sense to teach them in conjunction with each other.

You can also use discussions, role plays and group projects to continue the lessons from the books and stories you read in class. Literature can spark meaningful communication while also nurturing students’ opinions about various events and behaviors.

Teaching language through literature provides your students with tons of specific opportunities to expand their knowledge of language and culture and experience personal growth. Here are a few:

As you can see, using literature in language teaching and learning doesn’t have to be boring!

You can transform it into one of the most memorable learning experiences you offer to your students, and instill in them a lifelong love of reading and language.

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benefit of literature to you as a student

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Thursday, 22 nd February 2024

Thursday, 22 nd Feb

Why study Literature as a Humanities subject?

29 Aug 2017

literature

It’s the last term of school and your child has to choose the subject combination for next year. What is Literature about? Is it just Shakespeare? How will Literature prepare my child for the future? Senior Curriculum Specialist and Assistant Director for Literature (Secondary), Ms Meenakshi Palaniappan, shares her thoughts on this subject.   

Before you advise your Secondary 2 child, take time to also find out about the other Humanities subjects – Geography , History  and Social Studies . 

“Literature makes us better thinkers. It moves us to see the multi-sidedness of situations and therefore expands the breadth of our own visions, moving us towards dreams and solutions we might not otherwise have imagined.” – Judith Langer, Envisioning Literature.

In Literature, students read and respond to a variety of literary texts from the genres of prose, poetry and drama. The texts can range from classics such as Shakespeare, to modern works such as The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne. The greatest value of Literature is that it promotes empathy as it develops in the child a greater understanding of the human condition.

What would my child gain through the study of Literature?

When students study Literature, they learn to appreciate words and their power. They travel to other realms and times through the texts they read. They understand about their own culture and others’. They learn to empathise with characters, to feel their joys and pain. For example, one 15-year old student shared with me that when studying the short story, “The Shoes of My Sensei”, by Goh Sin Tub, he could put himself into the shoes of those who lived through World War II, and understand their suffering, and what it was like during that time.

Importantly, they learn to consider multiple perspectives and understand the complexity of human nature. Take, for example, George Orwell’s Animal Farm . Do we feel Napoleon is fully responsible for the miserable lives the animals lead? Aren’t the other animals responsible for their own plight too, having allowed Napoleon to tyrannise them? In Literature, as in life, things aren’t always so clear cut, in black and white. And therein lies the value of the subject – it prepares one for the ambiguities of life, to take uncertainties in one’s stride.

Moreover, in Literature, students develop a sense of individuality and creativity, as they develop their own opinions about issues in their texts. They also learn skills of persuasion – they need to convince others of their interpretations, and this builds their confidence.

Students learn skills of self-management as well. A 14-year old once told me he learnt that he needed to be resilient in the face of adversity, just like the main character in his Literature text. Another student shared this piece of advice: “If you’re in a bad situation, you may think there is only one solution; but in Literature you’re always looking at different ways of answering questions, and you can apply this in life as well, to find other solutions to problems.”

Literature develops in students enduring values, such as integrity, compassion, loyalty and responsibility. For example, in a text like Arthur Miller’s The Crucible , the main character chooses to sacrifice his own life rather than betray his friends and neighbours. When considering this character’s motivations, students discuss the value of integrity. They reflect on what it takes to be a man or woman who commands the respect of the people around them even in difficult situations. The texts students explore give them multiple opportunities to discuss and reassess their own values and beliefs. These act as a compass in life as students grow up.

So how would this subject help my child in his/ her future aspirations?

The values and skills learnt through Literature will serve students well in taking up a range of professions. This includes, among others, diplomacy and foreign relations, hospitality and tourism, engineering, legal services, education, business and healthcare.

Literature also develops in students critical and creative thinking skills, and encourages students to draw links between global and local issues. It involves negotiating with others through collaboration and effective communication. These are essential in the 21st century, as increasingly more jobs become outmoded by the development of artificial intelligence. Those who wish to remain relevant would be the ones who can accomplish what machine thinking cannot, and Literature develops just such skills.

Should my child take up Full or Elective Literature? What is the difference?

In Full Literature, students study Prose, Poetry and Drama, while in Elective Literature, students study Prose and Poetry. Both Elective and Full Literature allow students to develop literary skills, but with Full Literature, students are exposed to more texts and spend more time deepening their literary knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

How can I support my child in his/ her study of Literature?

Talking about Literature is great way to bond with your child. Try one or more of the following:

  • Invite your child to share the stories he or she is reading in Literature.
  • Use your own life stories to connect with your child’s literary texts.
  • Discuss world issues over dinner and ask about the connections your child sees between these issues and his or her literary texts.
  • Ask questions that occur to you about the texts – asking questions is a wonderful way of learning about Literature and your questions could help spark your child’s interest in his or her texts.

Have fun exploring the world with your child through Literature!

You may wish to view this video on ‘ Why Study Literature? ’ to learn more about the key 21 st century competencies that students can acquire through the study of Literature, and how these may be applicable in their future careers. 

Alternatively, check out some of the fresh new methods that schools are using to teach Literature !

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The Importance of Literature for Students – iRiverAmerica

Even after all these years and so many brilliant authors, many people underestimate the powers and benefits of literature. In fact, our world now is so obsessed with facts that only few stop to take literature in.

The truth is, literature is one incredible tool for self-development, education, and enjoyment. This is why it’s still widely present in education and takes a rather central part in the curriculum.

Education is more about facts and plain information. By including literature in, educators are giving the students a chance to explore the world and boost their critical thinking skills . Here is why literature is important for students.

Literature Expands the Horizons

With the help of literature, people can learn to open their eyes and listen more closely. Facts may show you the plain, straightforward information. But, students need literature to get out of the hustle and start thinking outside the box.

Literature expands the minds and the horizons. It helps students build their instincts, boost their curiosity, and sharpen their intuition.

One of the goals of education is to expose them to histories, cultures, other times, and places. Well, literature is an excellent way to achieve this.

Literature Builds the Critical Thinking Skill

When a student is exposed to all kinds of readings and literature, they learn to adjust to different styles, stories, times, as well as how to read between the lines.

The numerous literature pieces that are read and evaluated or reviewed at school teach students various lessons. But most importantly, they teach students of versatility and critical thinking.

By reading, the students shape their critical thinking skill. They build their preferences and style and start seeing things from their own, individual perspective.

After all, there are endless perspectives for a single literature piece. You should definitely check out these examples on literature papers here https://samplius.com/free-essay-examples/literature/ , to see how varied the critical thinking can be.

To make this even more effective, the educational system often requires that students consume literature, but also analyze it, review it, and discuss their opinions with others.

This helps them gain perspective and helps them learn to think on their own.

Literature Builds the Vocabulary

It is widely recognized that reading is one of the most effective ways to expand one’s vocabulary. Seeing how varied and fun literature pieces can be, this is an excellent way to learn thing whilst working on the student’s vocabulary and style.

The larger the vocabulary, the better are the critical thinking and communication skills. These are essential in life, which makes literature an excellent tool for self-development.

The more a student reads, the more they’ll be exposed to plenty of words they haven’t heard before. They’ll have the unique chance to see the words in context, look them up, learn their meaning, and use it in future.

It’s a much more effective method than just listing the unknown words to students, hoping that some of them will stick.

Literature Makes Us Appreciate Cultures and Beliefs

In many cases, students are given the task to read and evaluate literature that shares a story on history, religion, or anthropology.

This directly connects the student with information for other beliefs and cultures, making them more understanding of the same.

Before a person can immerse himself in a new culture, fit in, or accept a different belief, they have to understand it. Literature can help a lot with this mater.

Stories have the power to teach culture value. Some of them have helped shape the democracy of today, beat the racism, and connect people from different places, cultures, and backgrounds.

If students are to understand different cultures they may get in contact with, they need to have access to information. That’s exactly what literature provides them with.

The Bottom Line

Literature is necessary in education as it has always been. It’s often put in the centre of the curriculum because of its unique power to strengthen the mind, open new horizons, and provide growth to those who study it. Students should definitely grasp its power and the benefits it offers.

Author’s Bio

Nicholas Walker is a content writer and a poet. His daily job is also his freelance job for writing companies and magazines. In his spare time, Nicholas crafts amazing poems that touch the heart and feed the soul.

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Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

benefit of literature to you as a student

The benefit of literature to a medical student

Martin Conwill United Kingdom

In a letter to Benjamin Bailey in 1817, John Keats, who only one year prior was a medical student himself, wrote: “I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart’s affections and the truth of imagination – what the imagination sees as beauty must be truth.” 1 This proclamation can be taken as a view of the role of art in the search for truth—the pursuit of truth about the human condition through acts of imagination such as reading literature, viewing a painting, or listening to music. In the search for the truth in medicine we take the need for science as readily apparent, but the role of art is less clear. It is evident that the medical and clinical sciences should be taught and learnt systematically and in depth. However, a purely bio-scientific model of medicine neglects the ethical and artistic dimensions involved with patient interactions, offering a limited view of human illness. This view has led to the increasing acknowledgement that the arts are of value in medical education, coinciding with the burgeoning field of medical humanities in which literature plays an important role. 2 This essay explores the benefits of literature to a medical student. Arguments exploring this notion are presented and discussed below, illustrated by texts including Allan Bennett’s A Life Like Other People’s , Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and poems by Phillip Larkin such as “Heads in the Women’s Ward.”

Patient perspectives and empathy

Patients are complex human beings that experience problems within a plethora of contexts, emotional and existential. To provide the best care future doctors need to be able to appreciate these multiple personal dimensions. If a medical student’s own personal frame of reference proves insufficient then literature can offer fresh perspectives. As T.S. Elliot observed “we read many books, because we cannot know enough people.” 3

In Phillip Larkin’s poems “Heads in the Women’s Ward,” “How,” and “The Building,” 4 we are reminded of how alien and terrifying hospitals and illness must be for patients and relatives. In “Heads in the Women’s Ward” Larkin describes the experience of being on the ward and the thoughts on ageing and mortality that this generated:

On pillow after pillow lies The wild white hair and staring eyes; Jaws stand open; necks are stretched With every tendon sharply sketched; A bearded mouth talks silently To someone no one else can see. Sixty years ago they smiled At lover, husband, first born child. Smiles are for youth. For old age come Death’s terror and delirium. 4

Hospitals are significant places for people, places of birth and death. The interactions patients have with health care professionals within these places can be extraordinary and highly significant. Although this significance may, understandably, become lost on medical students through busy days on clinical placement, through reading literature there can be a reconnection with the patient perspective. This is shown in Larkin’s poem “The Building,” with the “place” being a hospital in Hull, United Kingdom: 4

This place accepts. All know they are going to die. Not yet, perhaps not here, but in the end, And somewhere like this. That is what it means, This clean sliced cliff; a struggle to transcend The thought of dying, for unless its powers Out build cathedrals nothing contravenes The coming dark, though crowds each evening try With wasteful, weak, propitiatory flowers.

Through offering renewed perspective and fresh insight literature can aid students in empathizing with the patient’s condition. In Allen Bennett’s A Life Like Other People’s , he describes candidly his mother’s descent via depression to dementia and his interactions with the health care system in the United Kingdom. 5 In this book we are given a son’s perspective on his mother’s illness and how this comes to affect the whole family.

His descriptions of the care home where his mother was placed, like Larkin’s poems, remind us of how alien and terrifying such places can be. In one particularly insightful account of his mother’s Alzheimer’s Bennett describes beautifully how the uniqueness of self within his mother is gradually lost as her disease progresses. He uses the metaphor of her changing appearance to illustrate this. Other people’s clothes and glasses gradually become her own due to the home’s chaotic laundry system, until she has none of her own clothes left. In addition the nurses stop using his mother’s correct name, instead using a nickname, over familiarity that he believes his mother would have found “common.” Reading passages such as this allows us to transport ourselves into the shoes of those who are going through difficulty and suffering. This can cultivate our empathy by revealing to us pertinent aspects of a patient’s illness that may be unrealized or unappreciated.

Descriptive accounts of actual illnesses in literature are also useful in increasing our understanding of patients’ perspectives and cultivating empathy. 6 In psychiatric conditions this is particularly relevant as disorders can involve altered aspects of personhood that we may find hard to comprehend. 2 Literature, especially written by authors who have experienced mental illness, allows us to engage within the minds of those who have suffered from psychiatric conditions. In Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” 7 the narrator is suffering from an unspecified nervous aberration. 7 In her own life Gilman suffered from depression, which she described as a “sort of grey fog drifting across my mind that grew and darkened,” leaving her a “mental wreck” with “constant dragging weariness, absolute incapacity, absolute misery.” 7

In the short story the narrator is also a woman suffering from depression-like symptoms who gradually becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper in her room, where she is imprisoned by the well-intentioned orders of her husband, a physician. The short story brings us closer to understanding the feelings experienced during depression:

I don’t feel it is worth my while to turn my hand over for anything, and I’m getting dreadfully fretful and querulous. I cry at nothing, and cry most of the time. Of course I don’t when John is here, or anybody else but when I am alone. And I am alone a good deal just now. 7

Students can read about symptoms such as these described in any list from any textbook, but to understand how they may feel requires an act of imagination, one which is necessary to be a good doctor. Literature can aid us in this endeavour by connecting us to the deeper elements in a patient’s psyche, enabling us to view things more effectively from their perspective. The examples from Larkin, Bennett, and Gilman show how through imagining and engaging with literary characters presented to us health care professionals can see things from a fresh perspective and develop empathy.

A broader context

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is also useful in demonstrating how medical students must be aware that medicine is practiced within personal, cultural, and political contexts. The short story is a feminist work that is believed to have been written in response to Gilman’s own patronising treatment by an eminent nerve specialist of the time. In it she exposes the patriarchal and patronising practices of the narrator’s husband, a doctor. Referred to as a “little girl” the narrator is encouraged to avoid all contact and creativity. 7 Her isolation and imprisonment in the room with the yellow wallpaper mirrors the restrictive and crippling social and economic pressures imposed on women in the nineteenth century. Eventually her sanity is lost and she begins to see hallucinations and delusions arising from the wallpaper. The short story reminds us that medicine is an important factor in, and a reflection of, our cultural and political landscape. Reading literature such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” can enable students to remain aware of and sensitive to this fact.

Aesthetics and narratives

The aesthetic approach to using literature in medicine is stated to create improved interpretational skills of narrative when interacting with patients. 9 It suggests that the skills developed when thinking about characters in a novel can be applied to understanding patient narratives in the real world. 2

In medical education we see narratives all around us. Conducting a patient history is essentially eliciting a narrative. When hearing this narrative back there is a need to use intuition and imagination to interpret aspects of what the patient has said. Certain literary devices are relevant in this regard. The unreliable narrator is one such example. In Ian McEwan’s Enduring Love the reader is unsure whether to trust the description of events by Joe, the narrator and protagonist. 10 In the story, his wife begins to question his interpretations of events, sowing the seeds of doubt in the reader. Certain red herrings are placed in the plot such as Joe’s handwriting, which is remarkably similar to Jed’s, his stalker who is ill with de Clerambault’s syndrome. Understanding this unreliability in narration is an important skill that can obviously be related to clinical practice, such as when trying to extract information about socially unacceptable behaviors such as drinking to excess.

Another example of a literary device that could be relevant to clinical practice is multiple narrators. In Willkie Collin’s detective novel The Moon Stone , eleven different narrators describe the story of the stolen moonstone from their points of view. 11 The book highlights the difference between subjective experience and objective reality; it requires the reader to interpret what each narrator is saying through an understanding of their viewpoint. In certain situations, such as emergency medicine, pediatrics, or geriatrics in particular, understanding this difference may be of clinical benefit.

Patients themselves often have their own personal narratives which drive their decisions and behavior. Reading can help us to encounter some of these narratives in literature. For example, some patients may be rebellious against hierarchy and authority, such as McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest . 8 Others may be neurotic and overly troubled such as Dostoyevsky’s narrator in Notes from the Underground , or his creation in The Double Mr. Yakov Petrovich Golyakin, 12 while others may be driven to understate their pain such as Allen Bennett’s father in A Life Like Other People’s . 5 Understanding these personal narratives can help doctors predict the reactions and behavior of their patients and improve communication.

The degree to which the skills picked up when reading a novel can be transferred to real interactions is debatable. However, an understanding of narrative is unquestionably important in medicine. Although the aesthetic approach to understanding narrative may appear slightly academic to some, the general idea, that through reading literature medical students can better understand and communicate with a variety of people, is convincing.

Reflecting and connecting

Literature can give us a greater appreciation of the patient’s perspective, their stories, and their illnesses. However, to become good doctors, students also need methods of connecting with their own inner thoughts and feelings. It is often purported that in clinical practice one must maintain a level of detachment. 13 However, to never let the guard down and feel is inhumane and harmful. In literature there is a safe place to allow feelings, inappropriate at the bedside, to be revisited and reflected upon. In Allen Bennett’s A Life Like Other People’s he describes the quiet dignified life and death of his parents. 5 After getting to know the characters of his parents and their relationships with Bennett, we are in need of his reflections upon their death and how he resolves this issue within himself. Through his insights on this subject students can reflect upon their own thoughts on life and death. Literature such as this can allow students and clinicians to relive feelings during periods of death and suffering that, at the time, were necessary to suppress; this can perhaps help them find some level of resolution and resolve.

Arguments that question the proposed benefits of literature

Despite some convincing arguments for the benefit of literature to medical students there are many who do not see a clear relationship between the arts and medical education and there are more still, due to their hectic schedules and demanding studies, who fail to find time to connect with literature even if they wish to.

Earlier in this essay it was discussed how reading may allow students to develop their empathy. However, the argument that the arts can increase our empathy for those in suffering and therefore make us more caring people is challenged by many. 15 In A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, the main protagonist Alex, leader of the “droogs,” involves himself in acts of indiscriminate “ultra-violence” yet Burgess chooses to give his character a love of Beethoven. 16 This juxtaposition of high art with inhumane acts illustrates how an appreciation of the humanities does not necessarily make someone humane.

It must be acknowledged that the content of what we read may not always instil within us empathy and a caring nature befitting of a doctor. For example in Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged she presents through fiction the arguments for her philosophy of rational egoism and demonstrates her rejection of ethical altruism. 17 This philosophy is largely incompatible with large sections of the Hippocratic Oath. This example goes to show how books in themselves are not necessarily “good” in the sense that they may not contain ideas that are suited to the practice of ethical medicine.

In a separate point there is a notion that overly “bookish people” who substitute experience for literary representations in the process lose touch with reality. 2 Marcel Proust acknowledged this when he wrote “reading is on the threshold of spiritual life; it can introduce us to it; it does not constitute it.” 18 In medical education this statement will often hold true—literary descriptions of medical emergencies or the experience of seeing death will never be as powerful as experiencing them for real.

These arguments should not be dismissed offhand; many patients would be worried if they believed their doctors were spending too much time reading novels and not enough time reading text books. However, the arguments presented fail to recognize how art need not be a substitute for science or a crutch for the inexperienced and un-personable—it can become a part of life, giving color, insight, and space to reflect.

This essay has explored the assertion that literature is of benefit to the medical student. Reading literature can enable us to see things from multiple perspectives and cultivate our empathy, allowing students to connect more deeply with the emotions of patients. Moreover, depictions of medicine in literature give us an artistic and culturally contextualized view of its practice, allowing students to reconnect with the wider context and significance of their field. Literature also provides a space for personal reflection and connection with emotions suppressed in day-to-day clinical education. There are arguments that question the proposed benefits of literature and many are disinclined to believe it beneficial. However, there are the beginnings of sea change in this point of view, and for students who are inclined to read literature, it can be a great comfort, an insightful teacher, and an invaluable tool.

  • Keats J. John Keats letter to Benjamin Bailey. 1817.
  • Oyebode F. Mind readings literature and psychiatry. London: The Royal College of Psychiatrists; 2009.
  • Elliot T,S. Notes towards the definition of culture. London: Faber Faber; 1973.
  • Larkin P. Collected poems. London: Faber Faber; 2003.
  • Bennett A. A life like other people’s. London: Faber Faber; 2009.
  • Charon R. Literature and medicine, contributions to clinical practice. Annals of Internal Medicine . 1995;122(8):599-606.
  • Gilman Charlotte Perkins. The yellow wallpaper. London: Virago Press; 1981.
  • Kesey K. One flew over the cuckoo’s nest. London: Penguin Classics; 2002.
  • McLellan MF, Jones AH. Why literature and medicine? Lancet . 1996;348(9020):109-111.
  • McEwan I. Enduring love. London: Jonathan cape; 1997.
  • Collins W. The moon stone. London: Penguin; 1994.
  • Dostoyevsky. Notes from the underground. London: Penguin Classics; 1972.
  • Kirklin D, Richardson R. Medical humanities a practical introduction. London: Royal College of Physicians; 2001.
  • Barnes J. The sense of an ending. London: Random House; 2011.
  • Bloom H. How to read and why. London: Fourth Estate; 2000.
  • Burgess A. A Clockwork orange. London: Penguin; 2011.
  • Rand A. Atlas shrugged. London: Penguin; 2007.
  • de Button A. How Proust can save your life. Vintage; 1998.

MARTIN CONWILL is a fourth year medical student currently studying Psychological Medicine at the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom). He is hoping to graduate in 2015 and is looking forward to the challenge and responsibility of working as a junior doctor. He believes the humanities have a much wider role to play in medical education and can give prospective doctors a broader educational basis and a more open and rounded outlook toward their future practice.

Highlighted in Frontispiece Volume 5, Issue 3 – Summer 2013 and Volume 15, Issue 2 – Spring 2023

Summer 2013  |  Sections   |  Education

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The Loss of Things I Took for Granted

Ten years into my college teaching career, students stopped being able to read effectively..

Recent years have seen successive waves of book bans in Republican-controlled states, aimed at pulling any text with “woke” themes from classrooms and library shelves. Though the results sometimes seem farcical, as with the banning of Art Spiegelman’s Maus due to its inclusion of “cuss words” and explicit rodent nudity, the book-banning agenda is no laughing matter. Motivated by bigotry, it has already done demonstrable harm and promises to do more. But at the same time, the appropriate response is, in principle, simple. Named individuals have advanced explicit policies with clear goals and outcomes, and we can replace those individuals with people who want to reverse those policies. That is already beginning to happen in many places, and I hope those successes will continue until every banned book is restored.

If and when that happens, however, we will not be able to declare victory quite yet. Defeating the open conspiracy to deprive students of physical access to books will do little to counteract the more diffuse confluence of forces that are depriving students of the skills needed to meaningfully engage with those books in the first place. As a college educator, I am confronted daily with the results of that conspiracy-without-conspirators. I have been teaching in small liberal arts colleges for over 15 years now, and in the past five years, it’s as though someone flipped a switch. For most of my career, I assigned around 30 pages of reading per class meeting as a baseline expectation—sometimes scaling up for purely expository readings or pulling back for more difficult texts. (No human being can read 30 pages of Hegel in one sitting, for example.) Now students are intimidated by anything over 10 pages and seem to walk away from readings of as little as 20 pages with no real understanding. Even smart and motivated students struggle to do more with written texts than extract decontextualized take-aways. Considerable class time is taken up simply establishing what happened in a story or the basic steps of an argument—skills I used to be able to take for granted.

Since this development very directly affects my ability to do my job as I understand it, I talk about it a lot. And when I talk about it with nonacademics, certain predictable responses inevitably arise, all questioning the reality of the trend I describe. Hasn’t every generation felt that the younger cohort is going to hell in a handbasket? Haven’t professors always complained that educators at earlier levels are not adequately equipping their students? And haven’t students from time immemorial skipped the readings?

The response of my fellow academics, however, reassures me that I’m not simply indulging in intergenerational grousing. Anecdotally, I have literally never met a professor who did not share my experience. Professors are also discussing the issue in academic trade publications , from a variety of perspectives. What we almost all seem to agree on is that we are facing new obstacles in structuring and delivering our courses, requiring us to ratchet down expectations in the face of a ratcheting down of preparation. Yes, there were always students who skipped the readings, but we are in new territory when even highly motivated honors students struggle to grasp the basic argument of a 20-page article. Yes, professors never feel satisfied that high school teachers have done enough, but not every generation of professors has had to deal with the fallout of No Child Left Behind and Common Core. Finally, yes, every generation thinks the younger generation is failing to make the grade— except for the current cohort of professors, who are by and large more invested in their students’ success and mental health and more responsive to student needs than any group of educators in human history. We are not complaining about our students. We are complaining about what has been taken from them.

If we ask what has caused this change, there are some obvious culprits. The first is the same thing that has taken away almost everyone’s ability to focus—the ubiquitous smartphone. Even as a career academic who studies the Quran in Arabic for fun, I have noticed my reading endurance flagging. I once found myself boasting at a faculty meeting that I had read through my entire hourlong train ride without looking at my phone. My colleagues agreed this was a major feat, one they had not achieved recently. Even if I rarely attain that high level of focus, though, I am able to “turn it on” when demanded, for instance to plow through a big novel during a holiday break. That’s because I was able to develop and practice those skills of extended concentration and attentive reading before the intervention of the smartphone. For children who were raised with smartphones, by contrast, that foundation is missing. It is probably no coincidence that the iPhone itself, originally released in 2007, is approaching college age, meaning that professors are increasingly dealing with students who would have become addicted to the dopamine hit of the omnipresent screen long before they were introduced to the more subtle pleasures of the page.

The second go-to explanation is the massive disruption of school closures during COVID-19. There is still some debate about the necessity of those measures, but what is not up for debate any longer is the very real learning loss that students suffered at every level. The impact will inevitably continue to be felt for the next decade or more, until the last cohort affected by the mass “pivot to online” finally graduates. I doubt that the pandemic closures were the decisive factor in themselves, however. Not only did the marked decline in reading resilience start before the pandemic, but the students I am seeing would have already been in high school during the school closures. Hence they would be better equipped to get something out of the online format and, more importantly, their basic reading competence would have already been established.

Less discussed than these broader cultural trends over which educators have little control are the major changes in reading pedagogy that have occurred in recent decades—some motivated by the ever-increasing demand to “teach to the test” and some by fads coming out of schools of education. In the latter category is the widely discussed decline in phonics education in favor of the “balanced literacy” approach advocated by education expert Lucy Calkins (who has more recently come to accept the need for more phonics instruction). I started to see the results of this ill-advised change several years ago, when students abruptly stopped attempting to sound out unfamiliar words and instead paused until they recognized the whole word as a unit. (In a recent class session, a smart, capable student was caught short by the word circumstances when reading a text out loud.) The result of this vibes-based literacy is that students never attain genuine fluency in reading. Even aside from the impact of smartphones, their experience of reading is constantly interrupted by their intentionally cultivated inability to process unfamiliar words.

For all the flaws of the balanced literacy method, it was presumably implemented by people who thought it would help. It is hard to see a similar motivation in the growing trend toward assigning students only the kind of short passages that can be included in a standardized test. Due in part to changes driven by the infamous Common Core standards , teachers now have to fight to assign their students longer readings, much less entire books, because those activities won’t feed directly into students getting higher test scores, which leads to schools getting more funding. The emphasis on standardized tests was always a distraction at best, but we have reached the point where it is actively cannibalizing students’ educational experience—an outcome no one intended or planned, and for which there is no possible justification.

We can’t go back in time and do the pandemic differently at this point, nor is there any realistic path to putting the smartphone genie back in the bottle. (Though I will note that we as a society do at least attempt to keep other addictive products out of the hands of children.) But I have to think that we can, at the very least, stop actively preventing young people from developing the ability to follow extended narratives and arguments in the classroom. Regardless of their profession or ultimate educational level, they will need those skills. The world is a complicated place. People—their histories and identities, their institutions and work processes, their fears and desires—are simply too complex to be captured in a worksheet with a paragraph and some reading comprehension questions. Large-scale prose writing is the best medium we have for capturing that complexity, and the education system should not be in the business of keeping students from learning how to engage effectively with it.

This is a matter not of snobbery, but of basic justice. I recognize that not everyone centers their lives on books as much as a humanities professor does. I think they’re missing out, but they’re adults and they can choose how to spend their time. What’s happening with the current generation is not that they are simply choosing TikTok over Jane Austen. They are being deprived of the ability to choose—for no real reason or benefit. We can and must stop perpetrating this crime on our young people.

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FACT SHEET: President   Biden Cancels Student Debt for more than 150,000 Student Loan Borrowers Ahead of   Schedule

Today, President Biden announced the approval of $1.2 billion in student debt cancellation for almost 153,000 borrowers currently enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan. The Biden-Harris Administration has now approved nearly $138 billion in student debt cancellation for almost 3.9 million borrowers through more than two dozen executive actions. The borrowers receiving relief are the first to benefit from a SAVE plan policy that provides debt forgiveness to borrowers who have been in repayment after as little as 10 years and took out $12,000 or less in student loans. Originally planned for July, the Biden-Harris Administration implemented this provision of SAVE and is providing relief to borrowers nearly six months ahead of schedule.

From Day One of his Administration, President Biden vowed to fix the student loan system and make sure higher education is a pathway to the middle class – not a barrier to opportunity. Already, the President has cancelled more student debt than any President in history – delivering lifechanging relief to students and families – and has created the most affordable student loan repayment plan ever: the SAVE plan. While Republicans in Congress and their allies try to block President Biden every step of the way, the Biden-Harris Administration continues to cancel student debt for millions of borrowers, and is leaving no stone unturned in the fight to give more borrowers breathing room on their student loans.

Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s SAVE plan, starting today, the Administration will be cancelling debt for borrowers who are enrolled in the SAVE plan, have been in repayment for at least 10 years and took out $12,000 or less in loans for college. For every additional $1,000 a borrower initially borrowed, they will receive relief after an additional year of payments. For example, a borrower enrolled in SAVE who took out $14,000 or less in federal loans to earn an associate’s degree in biotechnology would receive full debt relief starting this week if they have been in repayment for 12 years. The U.S. Department of Education (Department) identified nearly 153,000 borrowers who are enrolled in SAVE plan who will have their debt cancelled starting this week, and those borrowers will receive an email today from President Biden informing them of their imminent relief. Next week, the Department of Education will also be reaching out directly to borrowers who are eligible for early relief but not currently enrolled in the SAVE Plan to encourage them to enroll as soon as possible. This shortened time to forgiveness will particularly help community college and other borrowers with smaller loans and put many on track to being free of student debt faster than ever before. Under the Biden-Harris Administration’s SAVE plan, 85 percent of future community college borrowers will be debt free within 10 years. The Department will continue to regularly identify and discharge other borrowers eligible for relief under this provision on SAVE. Over four million borrowers have a $0 monthly payment under the SAVE Plan Last year, President Biden launched the SAVE plan – the most affordable repayment plan ever. Under the SAVE plan, monthly payments are based on a borrower’s income and family size, not their loan balance. The SAVE plan ensures that if borrowers are making their monthly payments, their balances cannot grow because of unpaid interest. And, starting in July, undergraduate loan payments will be cut in half, capping a borrower’s loan payment at 5% of their discretionary income. Already, 7.5 million borrowers are enrolled in the SAVE Plan, and 4.3 million borrowers have a $0 monthly payment.  

Today, the White House Council of Economic Advisers released an issue brief highlighting how low and middle-income borrowers enrolled in SAVE could see significant saving in terms of interest saved over time and principal forgiven as a result of SAVE’s early forgiveness provisions.

benefit of literature to you as a student

President Biden’s Administration has approved student debt relief for nearly 3.9 million Americans through various actions

Today’s announcement builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s track record of taking historic action to cancel student debt for millions of borrowers. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved debt cancellation for nearly 3.9 million Americans, totaling almost $138 billion in debt relief through various actions. This relief has given borrowers critical breathing room in their daily lives, allowing them to afford other expenses, buy homes, start businesses, or pursue dreams they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt. President Biden remains committed to providing debt relief to as many borrowers as possible, and won’t stop fighting to deliver relief to more Americans.

The Biden-Harris Administration has also taken historic steps to improve the student loan program and make higher education more affordable for more Americans, including:

  • Achieving the largest increases in Pell Grants in over a decade to help families who earn less than $60,000 a year achieve their higher-education goals.
  • Fixing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so that borrowers who go into public service get the debt relief they’re entitled to under the law. Before President Biden took office, only 7,000 people ever received debt relief through PSLF. After fixing the program, the Biden-Harris Administration has now cancelled student loan debt for nearly 800,000 public service workers.
  • Cancelling student loan debt for more than 930,000 borrowers who have been in repayment for over 20 years but never got the relief they earned because of administrative failures with Income-Driven Repayment Plans.
  • Pursuing an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the Administration’s original debt relief plan. Last week, the Department of Education released proposed regulatory text to cancel student debt for borrowers who are experiencing hardship paying back their student loans, and late last year released proposals to cancel student debt for borrowers who: owe more than they borrowed, first entered repayment 20 or 25 years ago, attended low quality programs, and who would be eligible for loan forgiveness through income-driven repayment programs like SAVE but have not applied.
  • Holding colleges accountable for leaving students with unaffordable debts.

It’s easy to enroll in SAVE. Borrowers should go to studentaid.gov/save to start saving.  

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  4. Amazing Benefits Of Literature-Based Learning

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  1. Review of literature

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  3. 5 Alternatives to `In conclusion` #gcse #inspiration#revision#englishlang#gcseenglish#literacyskills

  4. Literature Review In ONE Day

COMMENTS

  1. 12 Reasons to Study English Literature as an Undergraduate

    Posted on: October 7, 2022. By Richard Jacobs. Studying English Literature opens on to the world of creative imagination. Not only does it develop skills that are essential for today's global environment, but it also inspires change and innovation. English Literature studies help us understand our world in all its social, political, economic ...

  2. Why Do We Need To Study Literature? What Are The Benefits?

    Benefits of literature to students This subject does not have any particular language across the world and religions. Still, every definition of literature aligns with one another and gives true meaning to this beautiful artistic subject. The subject literature broadens our horizons.

  3. Why Study Literature?

    05.15.2023 • 5 min read Daisy Hill Author Learn about the value and benefits of studying literature: how it develops our skills as well as shapes our understanding of the society we live in. What Is Literature? The Benefits of Studying Literature Literature & Outlier.org Many libraries in the U.S. are under attack.

  4. Importance Of Studying Literature

    Academically, studying literature also helps us to refine our own writing skills and expand our vocabularies. PDF Cite Share Expert Answers Janet Long, M.A. | Certified Educator Literature is...

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    Studying literature tests your creative mind, inspiring innovation and change. Literature helps us use our written language as a practical, everyday tool that enlightens, educates, and inspires those who interact with it. Practical Skills Gained Through the Study of Literature

  6. Why Study Literature?

    The Department of English is a place where faculty and students intensely discuss what they love—novels, poems, plays, paintings, films, comics, video games, and other art forms—along with theoretical and philosophical questions related to the study of literature and culture. ... our undergraduates enjoy the intellectual benefits associated ...

  7. The Role of Literature in Education: Why It Matters

    Literature is a valuable tool for developing critical thinking skills, empathy, and creativity in education. This post will explore why literature matters and how it can benefit students of all ages. Literature Promotes Critical Thinking Skills. Reading literature requires active engagement and analysis, which helps develop critical thinking ...

  8. 1.2: Why Read and Write About Literature?

    Studies show reading literature may help. promote empathy and social skills (Castano and Kidd) alleviate symptoms of depression (Billington et al.) business leaders succeed (Coleman) prevent dementia by stimulating the mind (Thorpe) These are just a few of the studied benefits of literature.

  9. Why You Need to Read Literature

    Reading "for pleasure" is an easy habit to neglect. There's so much to read, after all; your assigned reading list seems to extend into eternity, promising sleepless nights and a desperate caffeine craving. But you need literature—regardless of major, and apart from all the nonfiction reading that fills our college years.

  10. Using Literature in the Classroom

    The book we are using for our up-coming courses is 'The BFG' by Roald Dahl. His weird and fantastical novels are the perfect starting point for your child to explore the English language as well as develop a love of reading. If you'd like to learn more about our holiday courses, please contact us at +60 (0)3 2723 7900.

  11. What Is Literature and Why Do We Study It?

    Literature is a method of recording, preserving, and transmitting knowledge and entertainment, and can also have a social, psychological, spiritual, or political role.". This definition is well-suited for our purposes here because throughout this course, we will be considering several types of literary texts in a variety of contexts.

  12. Five Reasons to Study Literature

    Consider these five: Literature improves communication skills The easiest way to improve vocabulary, writing, and speaking skills is to study literature. While reading American literature or classic British literature, your children will absorb the words, grammar, and style of the author.

  13. Why Write About Literature?

    Literature is a fruitful context in which to practice supporting an argument with textual evidence. Periodically, in one of my upper level English literature classes, I encounter a pre-law student who is required to take my class as part of her pre-law curriculum. If this policy at first seems odd, closer examination reveals its logic.

  14. Students' perspective on the benefits of EFL literature education

    A third of the students mentioned reader approach elements; the most frequent element mentioned was 'Critical thinking skills and personal development', mentioned by 28% ( n = 178) as a beneficial element in their EFL literature classes. The approach that was mentioned by the smallest number of students was the text approach (12%, n = 73).

  15. What Are the Benefits of English Literature?

    In fact, many would argue quite heartily that there is no better teacher for those wishing to write well in English than the body of work known as the English literary canon. Reading great literature improves one's skills as a writer. Readers of literature gain compassion for other times and cultures, a richer vocabulary and confidence in writing.

  16. Benefits of studying English Literature

    In this article, we have listed a few benefits of studying English Literature. 1. Literature teaches about the past. Just like History records the past, in the same way Literature reflects mankind at any point in time. While studying Literature, historical knowledge is revealed that helps students gain perspective of different cultures.

  17. 6 Ways Studying Literature Can Improve Your Creative Writing Skills

    2. It introduces you to interesting techniques for telling stories and describing characters It can be fun to describe things like you're a Victorian writer with a serialised novel to sell. What you might read for fun and what you might read in when studying literature can be quite different.

  18. Teaching Language Through Literature: 7 Important Techniques ...

    1. Choose an appropriate book Finding the right book is everything! Take into account your students' ages, interests, levels and socioeconomic backgrounds. For example, chances are your older teens won't find much to relate to in a picture book for young children.

  19. Why study Literature as a Humanities subject?

    When students study Literature, they learn to appreciate words and their power. They travel to other realms and times through the texts they read. They understand about their own culture and others'. They learn to empathise with characters, to feel their joys and pain. For example, one 15-year old student shared with me that when studying the ...

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  21. The Importance of Literature for Students

    It helps students build their instincts, boost their curiosity, and sharpen their intuition. One of the goals of education is to expose them to histories, cultures, other times, and places. Well, literature is an excellent way to achieve this. Literature Builds the Critical Thinking Skill

  22. The benefit of literature to a medical student

    MARTIN CONWILL is a fourth year medical student currently studying Psychological Medicine at the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom). He is hoping to graduate in 2015 and is looking forward to the challenge and responsibility of working as a junior doctor. He believes the humanities have a much wider role to play in medical education and can give prospective doctors a broader educational ...

  23. Conducting a Literature Review

    Benefits of Conducting a Literature Review While there might be many reasons for conducting a literature review, following are four key outcomes of doing the review. Assessment of the current state of research on a topic. This is probably the most obvious value of the literature review.

  24. 10 Best Books to Read for Students with Prices in (2024)

    Rs 434. 1. Think Like a Monk. Jay Shetty's "Think Like a Monk," published in 2020, stands as a beacon of wisdom in the realm of self-help literature. Tailored to resonate with students, this gem offers more than just guidance; it serves as a companion on the journey of personal growth and self-discovery.

  25. Literacy crisis in college students: Essay from a professor on students

    Ten years into my college teaching career, students stopped being able to read effectively. Recent years have seen successive waves of book bans in Republican-controlled states, aimed at pulling ...

  26. State scholarship program to benefit 40 University of Florida nursing

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  27. 10 Essential Managerial Skills and How to Develop Them

    6. Emotional intelligence. If you can manage your emotions and help manage the emotions of others, chances are you have emotional intelligence. Emotionally intelligent managers often have empathy for others, a sense of self-awareness, an ability to think before speaking or acting, and a high degree of resilience. 7.

  28. FACT SHEET: President Biden Cancels Student Debt for more than 150,000

    The borrowers receiving relief are the first to benefit from a SAVE plan policy that provides debt forgiveness to borrowers who have been in repayment after as little as 10 years and took out ...