Studying literature for me is the vast and profound world which cannot be reached to the end through my whole life.
If you want to learn just the English language, language school will be sufficient for its purpose. What is the English Department in a college education? What they offer and function to the student? I would discuss the purpose and significance of the literary study in the English Department.
- What does an English major do in the English Department?
- My childhood reading experience
- Awakening to the meaning of literature
- To read what is not written
- What is the significant meaning of the English Department?
- What is the universal value brought by literary study?
What does an English major do in the English Department?
Given that university education can be likened to follow a road which has already built by someone, the graduate level of education is to construct a road on your own.
Entering university, you have to decide your career at the mere age of 18 years old. Though you can modify it later, of course, 18 years old is still immature to make a decision for the future career.
Now, I have come to pursue the meaning of literary research from multiple viewpoints; however, looking back the days entering university, the reason I decided to enroll to the English department was that I simply liked English. I had never thought so far about what is English in college education, nor the significance of learning English literature, English language, linguistics, and any philosophical viewpoint of which English department might offer.
My childhood reading experience
Before going into details about the meaning of the English Department, I would like to talk about my personal reading history.
My parents have a love of reading, and the bookshelves were installed entire walls of our house as if to be a small library.
Raised in such an environment, my acquisition of written language was relatively early. I have a few memories of my 2-3 years old. The most memorable incident was my grandmother's statement: she said, "we have to say goodbye next year". As a very sensitive child, I used to feel so much heartbroken when I watched the sad story on TV, so my grandmother's words gave me an unforgettable shock. Overwhelmed by grief, I asked her, "why are you saying goodbye?" Then, she said, "It is because you are entering the pre-school next year". What a grandiose claim she was making! She just meant that we can't see each other as frequent as before. Since I started to go to the pre-school at the age of 3, this is one of my earliest memories. Around that age, I read a book for the first time in my life. It was one of Aesop's Fables, The Tortoise and the Hare.
Needless to say, all I could do is to chase each letter I have just learned, and couldn't connect each letter to the word, and to the sentence, let alone the meaning of the entire story.
Tracing the letter one by one, without connecting the meaning, I spend a long time reading but felt the sense of accomplishment when I finished reading the story to the end.
Looking back on that time, I think that I just followed only the letter, which is the smallest unit of a sentence in terms of the components of letters, words, and sentences. Though it was like I couldn't see the wood for the trees, I was able to finish reading anyway. This is my very first reading experience.
My parents gave me lots of listening materials for ear training as a part of sentiment education. They are the series of the world masterpieces, Bluebeard, The Happy Prince, Hansel and Gretel, and many others. Now I really think that I am so lucky to be acquainted with such wonderful masterpieces from early childhood.
I listened to the story only relying on narrative voice, for there were neither written words nor images. Because only the sounds made the world of the story, all I could do is to rely on my ears. The stories had grown with the infinite imagination and been visualized in my mind.
I believe that these experiences directly made great impacts on my senses and played a prominent role in nourishing my sensitivity since then. Thus, I have been exposed to the world of literature from the early stages of my life.
Awakening to the meaning of literature
As mentioned thus far, I had never thought about the significance of studying literature in the English Department before－at least, until the day of which I had taken a certain class in university.
However, the day suddenly came. One day, I was attending the Wuthering Heights class. Before attending this class, literature was just my favorite and didn't think about the reason and its significance.
As for Wuthering Heights, I really didn't have a special fondness for it though it was a great work. However, this situation had been suddenly changed by the professor's words.
Everything has been changed: my idea for literature, of courseーand, considering that I had entered to graduate school to be a researcher, it is reasonable to say that this incident had changed my life and career.
The professor said, "Lockwood loves people." There was a flash of lightning in my mind. This was the arrival of an aha moment.
At the beginning of the story, Lockwood clearly states to describe Wuthering Heights as a "perfect misanthropist's heaven". Discovering the unwritten idea behind the text, I felt something used to be dormant in me began to activate.
The professor just declared the words and didn't talk about the issue further. Therefore, I reread Wuthering Heights and tried to think why the professor said so, and have got my own answer.
Lockwood asked Nelly to tell more about people in Wuthering Heights with his strong curiosity to a sort of gossip.
It is also revealed by his defensive attitude and emotional movement. When he met Cathy, he recollected his summer love at the sea-shore, but he couldn't express any words, lined up full of excuses, and shrunk like a snail because he didn't know what to do. In this point of view, Lockwood shows a human attitude and is interested in people.
To read what is not written
Since then, I became aware of my position in the English Department and started to think about the significance of studying literature.
When a student in the English Department reads literature, the student has to read not only words but has to read the thought behind the words. That is the way of real reading.
I thought the professor was a person to possess a four-dimensional drawer which was always ready to open. A professor allows students to access the drawer if the students wish to do so.
What is the significant meaning of the English Department?
I think the purpose of the English department is to deepen an understanding of a universal issue of psychology among people and social phenomenon, and to study cultural realities through its curriculum.
It is not only reading novels and poems, but students also have to learn more detail of its connection with philosophy, religion, history, politics, fine arts, music, and performing arts, etc., with acquiring the knowledge of the history of literature, history of thought and cultural history, etc.
Thus, the English Department offers the opportunity to study based on a deep understanding of thought and culture.
I would consider in more detail why such a study is important and is required.
Study of literature begins from an intellectual pursuit. It is a natural instinct that people want to know about the thing they wondered. People have a desire for an inquiry into the truth. It is one of the primitive desires.
Trying to find what satisfies this desire is the study, and its approach itself and sharing the knowledge are the academic activities.
I totally agree with the idea that one's desire for knowledge is a completely important element; however, when it comes to research, it shouldn't be just a fulfillment of personal desire. There has to be a certain kind of universal values.
What is the universal value brought by literary study?
What universal value does literary study bring to us?
The literary study begins with posing the question of "who I am". For some people, it is the life-long question while some others don't even care. It is raising a question of identity which is ultimately the study of the nature of the universe.
Trying to get more understanding of literature links to the discovery of "who I am" and "who others are". Because you want to know where you are psychologically and historically, you study literature from historical and psychological viewpoints. Thus, literary study is affected by other fields of study. Moreover, literary interpretation will be affected by the reader's mental growth. By its dynamic nature, literary texts could have an aspect of sociology.
Without knowing the historical background, it is difficult to know the worth of the literary works correctly.
As a sentence can only make sense if it is positioned in a context, a literary work will be able to make sense when it gets the position in historical context.
As previously mentioned, my first reading experience was the reading of each letter without reading the context. As for my reading experience in the early stage of university education, I read the context without reading the idea behind it. Now, of course, I know the importance of reading the idea which is not written.
The text includes what people in that era considered, where they found their belief, what their issue was, and how they lived.
Thus, I investigate what the author may have been trying to reach and speak through literary works.
Since this blog entry is getting long, I will write a continuous article written about the distinctive feature of literature that divides literature and other fields.
The latter part of this topic is found at the below link:
What is literature? Part 2: The distinctive feature of literature - Mutsuko Takahashi BLOG
