1. UGRC 160 – Introduction to Literature
SESSION 1

2. Session Objectives At the end of the session, the student will
Understand what Literature is and the three main genres of Literature that will be studied in the course.
Understand the similarities and/or differences in the genres.
Appreciate the creative impulse that underpins all literary work
Be able to explain why we study/read Literature

3. WHAT IS LITERATURE?
Broadly speaking, “literature” refers to a specific corpus of written works on a particular field (sociology, anthropology, science etc) But the term is most commonly used to describe works of creative imagination; Works that draw on creative impulses to create a world that mirrors human society.

4. Some Literary Perspectives on what Literature IS
“It is in Literature that the concrete outlook of humanity receives its expression”
Alfred North Whitehead
“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.”
C.S Lewis
“Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find not absolute truth, but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart.”
Salman Rushdie

5. “The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “While thought exists, words are alive and literature becomes an escape, not from, but into living.” Cyril Connolly

6. WHY DO WE READ LITERATURE?
1. The study of Literature opens up New Worlds of Experience- The Journey of Literature. 2. Study of Literature helps “To search for the meaning of life and to speculate about the role of human beings in the world.” 3. The study of Literature INSTRUCTS/EDUCATES- Through the study of literature (especially novels/fiction), an individual may acquire knowledge in other fields of endeavor. E.g. Science, Anthropology, History etc.

7. WHY WE STUDY LITERATURE - Continued
4. Literature DELIGHTS- The study of novels, poems and plays can sometimes provide some form of entertainment; relieve stress or boredom. 5. The study of Literature inculcates in students some critical or analytical skills- through the close reading of texts, students learn how to glean or find evidence and make informed inferences or deductions about thematic issues in the text. 6. Literature’s ability to construct and articulate Sociocultural Realities enables readers to gain an understanding of other cultures in order to co-exist or tolerate the ideas of people with differing perspectives on life.

8. CHINUA ACHEBE

9. Achebe’s “The Novelist as Teacher”
In the African setting, Art is in the public domain, thus a sense of social of commitment is mandatory upon the artist.
The artist’s place in African cultures is to be that of a shaper of a communal psyche.
“Art whatever its form, belongs to the public sphere (the artist expresses the pains, and joys, the successes and failures of his people.)

10. Achebe observes differences in the orientation to literature of postcolonial and western writers. Firstly, Achebe expects that his audience will look to him as a teacher of the culture. Postcolonial readers will look to their writers for the reiteration of their culture and common concerns.

11. For Achebe, it is not what the writer expects from his society, but what society expects of its writers.
“LITERATURE”, should have as its prime objective, the intention to EDUCATE or to ORIENTATE society
So Is Achebe saying that any work of art that fails to Educate/orientate loses its Value? Do you Agree with Achebe?

12. GENRES/FORMS OF LITERATURE
DRAMA
PROSE
POETRY