Chapter 1 - Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
What this book is about
This is a book for literature students. It seeks to answer some basic questions about the role of literature in society, the nature of literature as an academic subject, and the relationship between reading within and outside the university. It intends to provoke you into reconsidering the role of literature in your life, the ways in which you have read stories, and the ways in which they have shaped you. Above all, through an examination of these issues, it seeks to improve your writing and your reading. The process begins with a series of reflections on the reciprocity of the relationship between writing and reading, and with some ideas about the value, in history and now, of reading and writing to powerful social institutions such as education, government and the media.
Why have you chosen to study literature? There are of course many possible answers to this question, but it seems likely that any answer would refer in some way to reading or writing. I would hazard a guess that it is your passion for reading, rather than a confidence in your ability as a critical writer, that has determined your choice. Do you consider yourself to be good at writing? What would it mean to be a good reader? And why do we frequently question our abilities as writers, but not as readers?
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- Information
- Studying English LiteratureA Practical Guide, pp. 1 - 20Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008