Why Literature Study Matters - 21st Century Learning

Why Study English?
Why Study Writing?

Why Study Literature?
Why Study Film?
Why Literature Study Matters:

21st Century Learning
Dr. Christopher Wielgos

English Department
Lewis University
September 23, 2010
Take Control of Your Future
ToSee What Skills Successful
Workers Will Need in the 21st
Century, go to:
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org
From: Are They Really Ready to
Work: Employers Perspectives on
Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills
What applied skills and basic knowledge
are most important for those you will
hire with a four-year college diploma?
Oral Communication 95.4%
(Foreign Language and English)
Collaboration 94.4%
Professional/Work Ethic 93.8%
Written Communication 93.1%
Critical Thinking/Problem Solving 93.1%
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2008). Are They Really Ready to Work: Employers Perspectives on
Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of the New Entrants into the 21 st Century Workforce. Available at:
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/FINAL_REPORT_PDF09-29-06.pdf
From: Are They Really Ready to Work:
Employers Perspectives on Basic
Knowledge and Applied Skills
What skills and content areas will be
growing in importance in the next five
years?
Critical Thinking/Problem Solving 78%

Information Technology 77%
Health and Wellness76%
Collaboration 74%
Innovation 74%
Personal Financial Responsibility 72%
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2008). Are They Really Ready to Work: Employers Perspectives on
Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of the New Entrants into the 21 st Century Workforce. Available at:
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/FINAL_REPORT_PDF09-29-06.pdf
Mapping 21st Century Skills & Web 2.0
Areas Improved through

Literature & Film study
Example
GroupingsLife & Learning & Information, Media
Career Innovation and Technology
21st Century Learning = Five C Skills
Communication
Uses the Web as Platform
Global awarenessMulti-Lingual
Collaboration
Harnesses Collective Intelligence
Telecommunications Driven
Critical Thinking
Always in Perpetual Beta
Financial, economic, business &
entrepreneurial literacy
Lightweight Programming
Cross-Cultural Awareness
Civic Literacy
Multi-Device Interface
Rich User Experience
Creativity & Innovation Skills

The Study of Language Generates
Both Critical and Creative Thinking
Why do we need both creative
and critical thinking?
Both together make us better:

writers, readers, thinkers, speakers,
critics, jurors, shoppers, voters, parents,
friends, neighbors, church members,
teachers, students, employees, leaders,
citizens, human beings!
The Study of Language Generates
Both Critical and Creative Thinking
Critical Thinking Creative Thinking
Analytic Generative
Convergent Divergent
Vertical Lateral
Probability Possibility
Judgment Suspended judgment
Diffuse Focused
Objective Subjective
Answer An answer
Left brain Right brain
Verbal Visual
Linear Associative
Reasoning Richness, novelty
Yes but Yes and
Harris, Robert. "Introduction to Creative Thinking." Virtual Salt. 1 July 1998. Web. 20 September 2010.
<http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook1.htm>
Society Values Literary
ConversationFreedom and
Individuality
Wetrain an army of educators to introduce a
greater army of future workers in literature to
produce criticismyet more writing about writing.
We are still a text-based culturemillions of books sold
every yearbillions of words encapsulated in web pages
every yeartrillions of text messages sent every year
Usually explained as an essential part of a
humanistic education, but that is not an
explanation, only a begging of the question.
Literature Study is part of the Great Project of
Humanism
Humanism is the approach to knowledge
developed after the Renaissance that values
Individuality and Freedom of Thought.
Studying the writing of fearless, free-thinking
people should develop those qualities in us.
Develop Language Abilities
We Develop Verbal Sophistication
When We Read the Creativity of
Others
In creating meaning, verbal artists mobilize
aspects of language that we normally take
for granted: the sound of words, the
cadences of their combinations, rules of
grammar and mechanics, etc.
In seeing how artists use language and
communication, we learn to expand our
own communication skills and develop
vocabulary that will capture
sophisticated/complicated thought
Experience Beauty and
Pleasure
Understanding Beauty Helps Us
Reach Higher Goals
When we perceive a work as beautifulnot
just well made, but deeply felt and
intricately imaginedwe gain great
pleasure.
That pleasure allows us to expand our
knowledge of what is possible, what is
reachable
We gain a greater sense of meaning and
purpose when we experience something
beyond description and FULL
comprehension
Develop an Understanding
of Self
We Discover What We Like
What we may dislike on first reading,
may become much clearer after
discussion, and we often change
opinions dramatically after gaining the
perspectives of others.
What we feel about a work of
literature teaches us something more
about ourselves.
Comparing what we admire to that of
others helps us understand our own
unique perspectives and qualities
Experience the World Through
Others Eyes
We Expand the Limits of Individual
ExperienceLive THROUGH Others
Gain an awareness of the world, both past
and present, and what people thought
throughout the ages enriches our present
lives.
As we read, we also become aware of our
differences from the characters and cultures
depicted in the stories, as well as among
those in our class.
We learn to respect others perspectives, and
we come to EMPATHIZE with others different
from us, as we experience what they
experience through the narrative of the story.
Experience Greater Appreciation
for Ourselves and Community
We See Our Own Attitudes in Relation to

Those of OthersSee Ourselves in
Relationship
In class, your reactions to a literary work
bumps up against those of the others in class.
You may gain additional knowledge from the
instructor and others in class.
Online, you receive direct feedback on your
specific ideas and compare your answers to
those of others
Feeling Part of a Reading Community
We take part in shared experience, with all of
us reading the same material and often
having similar experiences.
Develop an Identity
Learning About the Canon and National/
International Identity
We study writers that have become part of
the Literary Canon, that is, works by
writers who have been identified with
important characteristics of Americans and
others around the globe.
These writers allow us to understand how
Americans of the past and present have
defined themselves in relation to the world
compelling us to develop our own definition
of America, of ourselves.
To understand who we are now, we must
understand who our ancestors were.

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Why Study English?

Why Study Writing?

Why Literature Study Matters:

Dr. Christopher Wielgos

Critical Thinking/Problem Solving 78%

Areas Improved through

Creativity & Innovation Skills

Both together make us better:

We See Our Own Attitudes in Relation to

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