An Inquiry into Literature and Civilization

The very first assignment handed down in the Literature & Civilization class was, appropriately enough, to define the terms "literature" and "civilization."  To aid in this quest, I enlisted the help of three willing participants who were kind enough to offer me their own definitions of these words.  Below are their candid, unedited responses.


What is literature?

My roommate: "Is this for class? Ugh. Ummm... Let me think about it." At this point, she took out her phone and looked up what I can only assume is the Wikipedia page. "I would say that literature, in it's broadest sense, is any written work."

Random person in hallway: "I don't know. Like, books I guess? And like, poems and stuff."

My brother: "Literature means reading and ain't nobody got time for that."

What is civilization?

My roommate: "Let me ponder that for a moment." She looked up the Wikipedia article once again. "I think that a civilization, most broadly, is any complex state society characterized by a social hierarchy, symbolic communication forms, and a perceived separation from and domination over the natural environment."

Random person in hallway: "Civilization is just, like, people. Everybody. All together."

My brother: "Civilization is a great video game."  (In his defense, he is certainly not wrong.)

 
While I truly do appreciate all of my respondents' thoughtful and eloquent insights, I cannot say that any of them are necessarily satisfactory definitions of these admittedly abstract terms.  Personally, I would probably say that literature is any piece of published writing, especially those with some sort of artistic or intellectual merit.  I would define a civilization as a sizable collection of people who come together with a common culture and a common purpose.  

In the end, I am not exactly sure that these terms can be adequately summed up in a simple, short phrase at all.  Hopefully by the end of the semester, we will all have a greater understanding of what these words truly mean and what sort of relationship they have with one another.