Western World Literature
Approaches to Studying Literature
Pre-College Approaches
| Plot summary |
| Basic character description |
| Basic identification of themes |
| Connection to your life |
| Descriptions designed to prove you have read the material. |
Standard College Approaches
| "Close readings"--identifying and interpreting specific words, phrases and images |
| Thematic readings connected to other disciplines |
| Psychological interpretations |
| Historical and cultural interpretations |
Literature as Cultural Artifact
| Based on the idea that literature reflects cultural ideals or values |
| Roland Barthes--myth making |
| Effective approach for studying literature in translation from remote cultures. |
| Need to identify cultural differences anyway |
| Avoids problems caused by studying literature in translation |
Literature as Historical Artifact
| Particularly for literature from much earlier cultures, the literature is among the most valuable sources of historical knowledge. |
| Does not necessarily tell us what happened, but tells us the perception of what happened which would influence later events. |
Approaches in this class
| Class work will stress cultural and historical approaches. |
| You may use any college level approach in your essays, except that you may do close readings only if you deal with the texts in the original languages. |