CHAPTER 1: OF LITERATURE AND MEN:
21st Century Skills:
Critical Thinking – For liberty study this means
that the ability to engage with major 21st
Century issues. (Migration, Social and
Economic inequalities, Nationalism, and
Internationalization, Multiculturism, Gender, and
other forms of Identity Politics. The study of Lit is
a nuanced way of understanding these issues.
Self-Reflexivity – This refers to a high degree
of awareness of how your social, cultural,
economic, and personal context actively
constructs your reading of a text.
Creativity – On one hand, it means the ability to
adapt a literary text into another format. On the
more fundamental level, it means the ability to
read beyond the face value of a text. It
involves close reading or the ability to unpack
richly layered meanings in a text.
Research – A very important scale. It is the
ability to go beyond the given or for example,
the textbook itself. It is the ability to develop an
idea independently and intelligently by gathering
data from various sources and using this to
shape an argument.
Literature – Are written works, especially those
considered of superior or lasting artistic merit.
The term is derived from the Latin word
Litaritura/Litteratura which means “writing
formed with letters”
- It is not written to communicate
information but to communicate and
participate in significant human
experiences.
- It can also be defined as a body of written
works. (Littera – Letter)
May be classified into a variety of systems.
Including but not limited to: Language, National
Origin, Historical Period, Genre, and Subject
Matter.
Walter Pater – 19th Century Critic
The Mirror and the Lamp (M.H. Abrams)
- The text and the artist
- The text and the world
- The text and the audience.
Characteristics of Literature:
- It stands the test of time
- It has a universal appeal (No boundaries
of time, gender, space, culture, creed,
and religion)
- It evokes human emotion
- It offers insights into human nature and
experiences
- Offers us relief from pent up emotion
(catharsis)
- Involves a conscious effort on the part
of the writer to choose his words
discriminately to make his words creative
and imaginative.
21st Century Readers and Writers Need
to Do:
- Develop proficiency with tools of
technology.
- Build relationships with others to pose
and solve problems collaboratively and
cross-culturally.
- Design and share information
- Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple
streams of simultaneous information.
- Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate
multimedia text.
21st Century Literature
There are 3 genres of Literature, namely:
Books, Movies/Videos, and the Internet Web)
- New literary works created within the last
decade
- Imaginative writing
- Deals with current themes and reflects
technological culture.
- Often breaks traditional writing
- Traces artistic representation of shared
and familiar experiences.
- Can help us understand the past and
empower us to create the future.
- It educates us, allows us to relive
experiences, and share human
experiences through imagery and words.
It helps us understand the story, give peer
criticism, and accept peer criticism, build
writing, critical thinking, and communication
skills.
 Useful Themes in 21st Century
Literature:
Identity – It has become a common theme
for 21st Lit. People have relatively more
freedom to draw from multiple cultures and
philosophies. (women rights, LGBT, etc.)
History and Memory – Enable us to look
back on history depicted on different
audiences. Acknowledge history through
human experiences and perspective.
Technology – Has become more integrated
into people’s lives than ever before.
Intertextuality – These are the references or
parallels to other works of fiction writers
make.
21st Century Literature Content
Illustrated Novel – These are stories
through texts and illustrated images. Also
refers to extended narrative with multiple
images that together with the text to produce
a meaning.
50% without words and the readers must
interpret the images to fully comprehend the
story. Some may contain no texts at all, and it
spans all genres.
Ex. Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland
Digi Fiction – A triple media literature that
contains 3 media: Book, Movie/Video, and
Internet/Website.
To get the full story, readers must engage in
navigation, reading, and viewing in all 3
formats.
- These are different from E-Books. Rather
than a digital version of a print mode,
Digital Fiction are what are known as
Born Digital.
- May contain hyperlinks, moving images,
mini games, and sound effects.
- The reader has a role in constructing
narratives. (Interactive)
Ex. 39 Clues, Skeleton Creeks, Ghosts and
the Machines
Graphic Novels – It usually has a lengthy
and complex storyline similar to novels and
are often aimed at mature audiences.
(Narratives in comic book formats)
- The term is conveyed in a broad manner,
encompassing nonfiction works and
thematically linked short stories. “Bound
Collection” or more commonly referred to
as Trade Paperbacks.
- Graphic Novels are also typically bound
and more durable
Ex. The Walking Dead in 2013, Trese
Manga – It is the Japanese word for
“comics”. It is used in the English-speaking
world as a generic term for all comic books
originally published in Japan.
- Considered as an artistic storytelling
style.
Ameri-Manga is sometimes used to refer to
comics created by American artists in Manga
style.
Shonen – Boy’s Manga (Naruto, Bleach,
One Piece)
Shojo – Girl’s Manga (Sailor Moon)
Seinen – Men’s Manga (Akira)
Josei – Women’s Manga (Loveless,
Paradise Kiss)
Kodomo – Children’s Manga (Doraemon,
Hello Kitty)
The literal meaning of Manga is whimsical
pictures.
Doodle Fiction – Literary presentation where
the author incorporates doodle writing and
drawings in place of traditional font.
- Enhances the story, often adding
humorous elements.
- Tends to be much longer and complex
Ex. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Text-Talk Novels – Originally written on a
cellular phone via text messaging.
- Originated in Japan. Typically sent to the
reader via email, SNS, or subscription
through online writing
- Cliffhangers are common
- Per chapter there are typically 70-100
words
The first cellular novel was published in
Japan, 2003 by a man who calls himself
Yoshi called “Deep Love”
 Chick Lit – A genre of fiction which - It is a writing that is meant to be read out
addresses issues of modern womanhood. loud and rich with imagery.
(lighthearted) - It is more aggressive and in your face
than traditional poetry.
- Typically features a female protagonist.
- Terribly stereotyped and judge (dead Ex. Poems, Monologues, Rap, Stand Up
genre) Comedy
Ex. Bridget Bone Diary
Flash Fiction – A style of fictional literature
of extreme brevity. (A very short story)
- No widely accepted definition of the
length of the category, it can range from a
word to a thousand.
Ex. The Pedestrian Haunted House
Six-Word Flash Fiction – It allows readers
to consume an entire narrative in just a
moment of time.
Science Fiction – A genre of speculative
fiction dealing with imaginative concepts
such as technology, space travel, time travel,
parallel universe, etc.
- Explores the potential consequences of
scientific innovations. It has been called
“Literature of Ideas”
- It differs from fantasy because it is at
least plausible due to science.
Ex. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The
Hunger Games
Blog – Web log, A website that contains
short articles called posts that are changed
regularly and arranged as reverse
chronological order.
- It uses literary styles and techniques to
create factually accurate narratives.
Ex. The Devil in the White House, The Immortal
Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Blind Side Evolution
of a Game
Hyper Poetry – These refers to works of
verse which could not be presented
without the computer. (Verse with link, with
moving images, etc.)
Ex. Raindrops by William Harry, All Fall
Down by YH Chang
Spoken Poetry – It demonstrates a heavy
use of rhythm, improvisation, free
associations, rhymes, word play, slang.