Activity No. 1 World Literature

Name: Thea Sophia C.
Bueno Date: 08-09-20

Section: 10 - Euclid
Activity No. 1
What Is World Literature?

David Damrosch
World literature was long defined in North America as an established canon of European masterpieces,
but an emerging global perspective has challenged both this European focus and the very category of “the
masterpiece.” The first book to look broadly at the contemporary scope and purposes of world literature,
What Is World Literature? probes the uses and abuses of world literature in a rapidly changing world.
In case studies ranging from the Sumerians to the Aztecs and from medieval mysticism to postmodern
metafiction, David Damrosch looks at the ways works change as they move from national to global
contexts. Presenting world literature not as a canon of texts but as a mode of circulation and of reading,
Damrosch argues that world literature is work that gains in translation. When it is effectively presented, a
work of world literature moves into an elliptical space created between the source and receiving cultures,
shaped by both but circumscribed by neither alone. Established classics and new discoveries alike
participate in this mode of circulation, but they can be seriously mishandled in the process. From the
rediscovered Epic of Gilgamesh in the nineteenth century to Rigoberta Menchú’s writing today, foreign
works have often been distorted by the immediate needs of their own editors and translators.
Eloquently written, argued largely by example, and replete with insightful close readings, this book is
both an essay in definition and a series of cautionary tales.
Reference:
https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691049861/what-is-world-literature
Activity 1
Direction: Answer the given questions.
1. In your own words, what is World Literature?
When we look at the word “world” and “literature”, we can easily and almost immediately know what
World Literature truly means. Literature is a collection of written or oral works often considered as an art
form, especially fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, while world covers the entirety of the place, we all
live in. When you combine world and literature, it basically means the sum or collection of all national
literature and the circulation of literary works into the wider world beyond its culture of origin. It
discusses the differences in the way different cultures create their literary works, their history, what
changes their literature went through that led to what it is today, and qualities that make theirs unique
from others. It crosses borders and becomes important to people around the globe. It is an impossibly
large area of study, given that many scholars struggle to keep up with even a very limited area of
specialization (i.e. Philippine Literature).
2. Why do we need to study World Literature?
World literature is definitely a tiring field to study due to its broadness and diversity. Even so, it
promotes, through studying, the cognitive, academic, professional, moral, and spiritual development of
students. It also improves one’s reading and writing skills, vocabulary, and composition. It also helps
students see the world - people, places, things, events - through different eyes and by way of a different
viewpoint. It helps them experience, in their mind, new customs, cultures, and way of life through good
stories, novels, plays, or poems. This helps students see how life is different (and the same in some ways)
in other countries. Reading world literature gives students a glimpse of how people live and view life in
other lands and gives countries the opportunity to promote and spread their literature to others to preserve
it and let others appreciate what their ancestors have coined. Many literary works from many different
countries contains words of wisdom and lessons to apply to one’s life.
3. How does Literature affect our perspective?
Literature allows us to see different places across different times in history through somebody else’s
perspective by reading their written literary works. It allows us to use our imagination to picture certain
events and places being described by a writer. It gives us an idea of what it’s like to live in that person’s
situation, almost as if you’re actually with the writer. It gives us the opportunity to escape and live in a
totally different world. It’s truly a fascinating concept. World literature allows us to see things in our
world that we never even realized before. Through good literary works, the author is able to make the
reader realize the good and bad things. Morals and lessons in stories, poems, and all other forms of
literature help us better understand the world around us. It teaches us things about life and helps us
develop as humans. A good and effective literary piece can also completely change a person’s view of the
world. It can make them conscious of their surroundings and their actions and help them make good
decisions.

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Activity No. 1 World Literature

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Name: Thea Sophia C.

Bueno Date: 08-09-20

What Is World Literature?

2. Why do we need to study World Literature?

3. How does Literature affect our perspective?

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