McLaren, John (2006) Literature at Footscray — a discussion paper. UNSPECIFIED. (Unpublished)

Abstract

Contains a discussion on the role of literature, the traditional purpose of teaching literature and the history of Literary Studies at Footscray. Roger Penrose writes that to mathematicians, mathematics is "not just as a cultural activity that we have ourselves created, but ... has a life of its own, and much of it finds an amazing harmony with the physical universe." This is also true of literature. Literature is a game, but it is also an activity that reveals much about the relation between humans and their world. It can help us to understand what it means to live as individuals in society, specifically in Australia in the 21st Century. In other words, it places us in our history, a history that is not merely a collection of facts, but must be assembled into narratives and understood imaginatively to apprehend its meanings. In this it differs from mathematics, which proceeds logically from fixed premises or observations. The writing and reading of literature proceeds dialectally, from an experience of words towards a common understanding.

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