Lecture Notes: Understanding Literature in Contemporary Context

Introduction

• Objective: Establish parameters for defining literature, culture, and media.
• Focus: Understand basic definitions, historical changes, and ongoing debates about literature.

Etymology and Definitions

• Origin: Late Middle English via French from Latin litteratura (writing formed with letters).
• Artistic Value: Literature as an art form using language distinct from everyday use.
• Dictionary Definitions:
  • Oxford: Collection of written works with lasting artistic merit.
  • Merriam Webster: Writings with excellence in formal expression.

Historical Changes in Definitions

• Pre-18th Century: All writings considered literature.
• 19th Century Romantic Era: Shift towards imaginative writing.
• 20th Century: Inclusivity of non-written, oral art forms, and non-creative writings.

Major Forms of Literature

• Genres: Poetry, Drama, Prose (includes novels, short stories).
• Transformation: Influence of media and technology on literary genres.

Literary Principles

• Literature vs. Non-literature: Exploring literaryness in writing.
• Questions: Necessity for linguistic medium, superior artistic value.

Subjectivity in Defining Literature

• Relativism: No value distinctions; literature is subjective.
• Subjectivism: Literary value is personal and independent of context.
• Agnosticism: Subjective value systems prevent defining real value.

Procedural Definitions

• Stephen Davis: Focuses on procedural understanding over functional.
• Critiques: Fails to classify and explain literary versus non-literary.

Linguistic Approach

• Distinctive Language Usage: Literature's unique use of language, not equated with fiction.
• Russian Formalists: Literature as organized deviation from ordinary speech.

Institutional and Contextual Definitions

• Informal Institution: Literature defined by context, not inherent language properties.
• Literary Canon: Formed through socio-cultural, political motivations.

Role of Authorial Intention

• Lamarque and Olson: Literary work defined by author's intention and reader's expectation.

Literature as Imaginative Writing

• 19th Century View: Literature as art and imaginative writing.
• Imaginative Writing: Aesthetic, cognitive, and interpretation-oriented values.

Ongoing Debates and Challenges

• Value Judgments: Subjective and change over time.
• Exclusionary Practices: Based on dominant socio-cultural and political motivations.

Literature's Function

• Social Function: Literature as a tool for bettering future and understanding humanity.

Conclusion

• Dynamic Definitions: Literature is not fixed; its value and definitions evolve with context and societal changes.
• Relevance: Literature continues to help in understanding ourselves and society.