What is Literature, and Why Does It Matter?
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This section brings together some resources from the across the Great Writers Inspire site to illustrate how these can be used as a starting point for exploration of or classroom discussion about the the questions 'What is Literature?', and 'Why Does It Matter?'.
The 'What is Literature, and Why Does It Matter?' essay introduces a series of topics and questions and gives examples of resources to explore. It is aimed at teachers, students and anyone who is interested in literature who wants to put text into context and be inspired by Great Writers. Read the essay
| # | Title | Description | Contributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why should we study the humanities? | For those wanting a further challenge, Professor Helen Small of Pembroke College, Oxford, discusses… | Helen Small, Ilana Lassman |
| 2 | Why should we study Johnson? | Professor Ros Ballaster of Mansfield College, Oxford, discusses her current research and proposes… | Sarah Wilkin, Ros Ballaster |
| 3 | Why should we study Postcolonial Literature? | Professor Elleke Boehmer of Wolfson College, Oxford, discusses her current research and proposes… | Elleke Boehmer, Sarah Wilkin |
| 4 | Why should we study Chaucer? | Dr Laura Ashe of Worcester College, Oxford, discusses her current research and proposes why we… | Ilana Lassman, Laura Ashe |
| 5 | Why should we study Shakespeare? | Dr Emma Smith of Hertford College, Oxford, discusses her current research and proposes why we… | Ilana Lassman, Emma Smith |
| 6 | Why should we study Dickens? | Dr Robert Douglas-Fairhurst of Magdalen College, Oxford, discusses his current research and… | Ilana Lassman, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst |
| 7 | Great Writers Inspire Great Writing | Alex Pryce considers how writers are readers, influenced and inspired by the works of other writers. | Alex Pryce |
| 8 | What is a Classic? English Graduate Conference 2012 Panel Debate, Talk 3 | Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, draws on her experience as a trustee of the Booker Prize and as a judge… | Helena Kennedy |
| 9 | What is a Classic? English Graduate Conference 2012 Panel Debate, Talk 2 | Judith Luna, the Senior Commissioning Editor at Oxford World's Classics, draws on her practical… | Judith Luna |
| 10 | What is a Classic? English Graduate Conference 2012 Panel Debate, Talk 1 | Dr Ankhi Mukherjee, Wadham college, Oxford, speaks to the question 'What is a Classic?' by… | Ankhi Mukherjee |