"Impostor" XKCD
The above cartoon, while honestly worth
a chuckle, paints a bit of a bleak picture of how the world sees literary
studies. Society today places high value on skills that lead us into career
fields that have large returns in paychecks, benefits, and quality of life.
Many people believe that the study of literature is a waste of time and
purposeless because of the seeming ease of the subject, and the ability to “make
it up” because few people understand what is actually happening in all of the
theories. What they don’t realize is that, though it may seem to be a silly or
useless area of study, it actually teaches and reinforces skills that can be
applied in all other areas of life, be it career, further education, or a
conversation with your very educated future father-in-law.
While forming solid, evidence-based arguments is an important part of literary theory and interpretation,
this is not the only skill that can be learned. Literary students don’t spend their
whole lives arguing the virtues of Shakespeare or whether New Critics were
crazy. Students
engaged in literary study learn effective writing, clear speaking, critical thinking,
and they better comprehend information. All of these things can be taken out of
the context of literature and into the world beyond the university.
Students who have a background in
literary studies are better able to think critically and analyze information in their chosen field, and
then apply those ways of thinking. These students recognize the links between
all of the academic fields and, in turn, all of the ways that the career fields
“talk” to one another. In his article “Literary Theory and the Role of the
University,” Peter Baker explains that theory is the unifying point between all
fields of study because the practical application of literary skills enhances
the work in other fields (Baker 1-2). Baker states
far
from occupying an isolated intellectual sphere, these theoretical issues
continue to speak to the realities faced by the entire university community.
The discourses of literary theory cross disciplinary boundaries and are thus
able to elicit the responses of people engaged in other types of activity within
the university (Baker 1).
Without the tools that have
stemmed from the study of literature(such as speaking and writing clearly, quickly comprehending textual and other media messages, etc.), other fields would not be able to
communicate well, inside or outside of their own research. Thus, students who
have an understanding of textual interpretation, how people think and what they
value, writing clearly and persuasively, and presenting information in a
logical sequence will go farther and have greater success than students who do
not have such skills.
An example of these skills
appears in Barbara Stern’s article that appeared in the Journal of Advertising in 1991. The article discusses the
application of literary tools to advertising, detailing the importance of
understanding what an advertiser’s intended market values and how this audience
will respond based on these values and beliefs. Stern highlights the importance
of understanding and making use of the ways that an audience interprets the media presented to them.
She states that “audiences within a culture are accustomed to take on different
roles in response to the different radicals of presentation long associated
with familiar literary genres,” (Stern 11). Therefore it is imperative that
students gain an understanding of what audiences expect. People in the career
field who have an understanding of literary theory and interpretation can
anticipate the ideologies and interpretive strategies of their potential
audiences.
It makes sense that having a general
understanding of literary interpretation gives students head start when entering a chosen career field. All of the skills -- writing, speaking, thinking, and
interpretation -- can be combined to create a formidable, well-educated person. As
Young states, “the nature of the knowing subject, the nature of language and
its relation to the subject, and the status of literary theory itself” (Young
4) will provide students with more than personal interpretive abilities, but
with the ability to apply such skills to outside forms of writing, speaking,
and thinking. Those who know how to present material (written, visual, and other forms) in ways audiences (be it a
medical audience, an academic audience, a social media audience, a board of
directors audience, or any other) will relate to will be more successful than
those professionals who do not have this knowledge.
Application of interpretive skills: take a look at the following clip. Notice the literary elements that are being employed here, such as the ability to use language and image to catch a viewer's attention, the knowledge presenters have of their audience's values, and the presenters' use of an audience's role in interpreting media.
"Mr. W" YouTube
