What IS Literature? …huh?

What IS literature? Why do we study it?

That was the the topic of the entire 3 hour and 10 minute Literature Theory class I have the opportunity to take notes of for a student with disability the first half of this summer.

…expression of a person’s thoughts/ideas written down (or not)? message in a story? artistic merit? subjectivity or objectivity? something that lasts? what society values based of economic conditions? etc.

So much universality and relative talk. Theorist can’t pin down the exact answer. These college kids (mainly English majors) will be reading Freud and Marx, among others. In my eyes, it’s a pity and disturbing to know how confused even the professor seems to be. He didn’t even give an answer. He agreed with the class a lot.

I was ITCHING to say things in today’s class; so when everyone was dismissed, I have requested permission to interject my two cents when ever I feel like. It was granted. ;D We shall see how it goes!

~CONVERSATION CARRIED ON~

Friend: isn’t literature just “words on paper”??

Me: Apparently, according to this class, “words on paper” is your opinion, postulate, theory, assumption, subjectivity. Thus, it is not necessarily true for someone else. What they are teaching is the POSTMODERNISM worldview: reality is what individuals or social groups make it to be.

Friend: So nothing is TRUE. What a wonderful world that must be

What are your thoughts?