What are we in a "Responding to Literature" class?

At the beginning of Thursday's class, Dr. Benton distributed copies of the responses that students had written to the poem "On This Bus" by Ric Masten, which they had been given on the first day of class. After marking their favorite responses, students commented on the qualities embodied in those responses.  Some of the answers included:  "short and sweet," "unique," "honest," "took it farther," "clear," "appreciated the poem," and "amusing."  We then discussed how different audiences value different qualities.  Thus, in some contexts "short and sweet" is appropriate (as when you're passing somebody in the hallway and you ask, "How are you doing?"), but in others, "short and sweet" may not always be best (as, perhaps, when you are interviewing for a job and you are asked to comment on any relevant experience you've had, or when a lawyer is asked to offer reasons to support the claim that her client is innocent").

Before discussing the kinds of response that might be valued in university-level literature course like this one, we talked about how we might define "literature."  Some of the answers included "making art out of words," "whatever someone appreciates," "whatever moves someone," "whatever is meaningful to someone--not necessarily the reader."  Other qualities mentioned included "superior or lasting," "creative," "teaches," "sends a message," "informs, "thought-provoking."

Dr. Benton then wrote the word "letter" on the whiteboard and asked everyone to represent it visually on a sheet of paper.  Some drew symbols from the alphabet; others drew an envelope or something that might slide into it. Both the image of the alphabetic symbols and the mail document correctly refer to a different meaning of the word “letter,” but this does not mean that “letter” always means both things.  In the same sense, the word “literature” may refer either to everything that has been published (on a certain topic, say) or it may refer to the kind of thing that tends to get studied in “Literature” classes like this one.  It is this second definition of “literature” that we will be discussing in this class.

Dr. Benton went on to point out that some words have multiple meanings, but for a word to have a meaning it must signify something both for the speaker or writer and the listener or reader.  In other words, it is not enough to simply say from this point on when I saw the word "pig" the rest of you will understand that I mean "pencil."  There must be a community agreement of some kind that certain words mean certain things.

We then examined an answer to the question “what is literature?” provided by English scholar, Terry Eagleton. 

Benton explained that, according to Eagleton, no one person has the authority to determine whether or not an individual text is or is not a work of literature.  Determining what is and is not literature is a collective enterprise, and different groups may take different values into consideration when they decide what is and is not literature.  It is not just a question of which texts qualify as literature that is at stake.  A community’s definition of what “literature” means may also change over time.  This is not to say that everyone the same community always agrees about that definition.

A community is always in conversation with itself about what does and does not count as literature.  This is one reason why our responses to literature (remember the title of this course?) are so important.  And it is not just the question of whether or not an individual text rises to the literary standards of a given community that is at stake; the very question of what those literary standards should be is also a matter of debate.

Finally, we discussed the question, "Why does the state board of regents want college students to take courses like this one?"  Some of the answers offered by students in included, "to engage thought," "to encounter different perspectives," "to make arguments," "to think for yourself," "to develop interpretive and communicative skills," "to better understand the world we live in," and "to better understand the past."

As a part of this discussion, we talked about how many of these skills may be useful in the job market, but there are other reasons that these skills may be valuable. For one thing, they may help us become better citizens--which is important in a democratic society.  They also might enhance the quality of our lives and shape our values.

The conversation then turned to the observation that appreciation of literature may be considered an "acquired taste."  While students may struggle at first to find value in literature in general, or in a particular genre of literature in particular, with time and experience, as the readers learns more about the way literary texts operate, greater appreciation and enjoyment may follow.   

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:

Go to www.bentonseculit.blogspot.com and post a comment on the post titled “Does literature make readers more compassionate?”  Due date:  before class on Tuesday, August 27th.