Definition
In language education, literature includes more than a fixed canon of poetry, fiction and drama. It can also include diaries, autobiography, letters, children’s literature, folklore and other forms in which language is used to create, represent and interpret experience. Literature can be studied as an artistic field, but also as a social and communicative system involving production, distribution, reception and interpretation.
Culture is broader still. In this context, literature is one important route into cultural learning because texts carry assumptions, memories, symbols, histories and social perspectives. Literary work can therefore support both language development and the interpretation of cultural contexts.
Literature and culture in higher education
Foreign-language literature is commonly taught in arts, humanities, translation and applied-language programmes. Cultural study appears across an even wider range of contexts, including communication, tourism, social sciences and professionally oriented language programmes. The language of instruction varies, and not every literature or culture module is delivered in the target language.
Knowledge and competences
Study in this area can develop:
- knowledge of historical, social and political contexts surrounding texts and authors;
- understanding of literary genres, styles, periods and critical concepts;
- close-reading and interpretive skills;
- the ability to compare texts, cultural products and media;
- awareness of how literature participates in cultural memory;
- the ability to connect literary, cultural and media developments;
- the capacity to present and defend an interpretation using evidence from the text.
Teaching and learning
Traditional close reading remains valuable, but literature and culture also lend themselves to project-based and learner-centred approaches. Courses can combine discussion, digital annotation, collaborative interpretation, fieldwork, cultural comparison, media adaptation, presentations, study visits and independent research.
These approaches work best when they preserve analytical rigour. New media should expand the objects and methods of study rather than reduce literary learning to general cultural conversation.
Assessment
Essays, oral examinations and written examinations remain common, but portfolios, project work, presentations, peer review, open-book tasks and self-evaluation can provide evidence of different kinds of learning. Transparent criteria are especially important when a task combines language performance, literary analysis and cultural interpretation.