About This Textbook
Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity attempts to make the study of literature more than simply another school subject that students have to take. At a time when all subjects seem to be valued only for their testability, this book tries to show the value of reading and studying literature, even earlier literature. It shows students, some of whom will themselves become teachers, that literature actually has something to say to them. Furthermore, it shows that literature is meant to be enjoyed, that, as the Roman poet Horace (and his Renaissance disciple Sir Philip Sidney) said, the functions of literature are to teach and to delight. The book will also be useful to teachers who want to convey their passion for literature to their students.
After an introductory chapter that offers advice on how to read (and teach) literature, the book consists of a series of chapters that examine individual literary works ranging from The Iliad to Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. These chapters can not substitute for reading the actual works. Rather they are intended to help students read those works. They are attempts to demystify the act of reading and to show that these works, whether they are nearly three thousand or less than two hundred years old, still have important things to say to contemporary readers.
Author
Theodore L. Steinberg
Publisher
Milne Open Textbooks
Publish Date
September 11, 2014
Level
Undergraduate
License
Features
Reviewed
License
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Field Expert Reviews
Textbooks are reviewed by subject matter experts in addition to our quality assurance process. Reviewers are paid an honourarium to provide their honest feedback on the material.
English Instructor
Annette Lapointe, Grande Prairie Regional College
This textbook is clearly intended for an audience no more advanced than First Year, but it does not match current pedagogical approaches in Canadian colleges and universities. The book includes no Canadian content. I would like to stress that while„
Instructor
Sonia Perna, SAIT Polytechnic
The text does not include any Canadian literature, so I would need to find other resources to teach works by Canadian authors, which I include in almost every course I teach. In fact, Canadian content is mandated in the literature upgrading courses I teach „
Sessional Lecturer
Dale Martelli, Simon Fraser University
This text is appropriate as a resource for anyone teaching “English” literature along with the possible foray into a Greek Classic. The principles of textual treatment, however, are universal in my view. „