A Need to Study Literature by Students of Technical / Professional / Business Communication
by Prof(Dr) Kum Kum Ray
Education systems and programmes should be with intellectual dimensions within the parameters of rational traditions of modern scholarships; the outcome of philosophical investigations into the entire spectrum of , social, cultural, aesthetic, moral, religious values . Develop , a truly integrated human personality “to live a full life, in the wide world” (Cross, Hardy, Engineers and Ivory towers, New York, Mc Graw Hill, 1952).
This is a difficult task, but not impossible. Study of Literature for professional students of Science and Management can go a long way in the meaningful interaction of the two disciplines. The study of great authors can enlighten students with ‘humanism’, ‘sensitivity’ and ‘comprehension of history, culture, philosophies so required to produce the integrated personality, One cherishes, noble ideas and lofty values for a better future.
“That which liberates the mind is education ‘, the Upanishads teach us.
But what are we today?
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan said “there is only one thing worse than the devil and that is the educated devil. We are not afraid of primitive people today, we are afraid of the educated people who have technique of modern science in their grasp, psychological skill for propaganda purposes; men who have power without the goodness to use it.”
If education enables man, to realise his full potential .Bring out , a synthesis of the best in man. It should help him register growth in every aspect of his personality— physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, social, moral and spiritual. Unfortunately our education system is producing lop-sided personalities: “Monsters with tremendous power but without an iota of love for man: (Prem P Kapoor “Human values, literature and Technology” at the University of Roorkee in the National Conference held on November 3-5 1997 Integrating Humanistic Values and Social concerns with Technical Education.
Wordsworth believed that Poetry is “the impassioned expression which is the countenance of all science.” If science, should ever decide to put on flesh and blood, poetry would lend its divine spirit to aid in such a transfiguration” declared Wordsworth.
Marx felt that natural science will one day incorporate the science of man just as the science of man will include the natural science.
Recommendations of UNESCO by the International Commission on Education, lays down as its goal, the blue print, for a complete fuller personality of , the man of tomorrow ……. Science will illuminate the dark road before him, art and literature would make him less alienated from nature and from man.
This brings me to the abstract of my paper the incorporation of a paper on Literary Appreciation & works of International Literary Giants with the aim of teaching technical and professional students the Art of Critical Literary Analysis in the context of cultures, history and philosophies to make the student ‘a holistic personae’
Steps to integrate the two disciplines in every technical, professional Institute what ever its status must be taken. A compulsory paper on Appreciation of Literature and at least 4 great works of Literary Giants from different eras must form a part of the course. Translation of famous works can be included as well.
For example a study of Mulk Raj Anand’s, “Untouchables” can become a powerful; but anguished cry of the underdogs of society, who want to be part of the mainstream.
Arthur Millers “All my sons” as artistic representation of one man’s greed killing his son in the war along with many more sons of the Motherland. A study of interpretation of events and characters as varied as the author’s view and way of presentation.
Now psychological ideas emphasised the multiplicity of consciousness; the simultaneous co-existence, of the conscious and subconscious; in which past experiences were retained and by whose retention the entire personality was coloured and determined. The truth about a character, being the sum of his total emotional experience. ‘The sum ‘that is always there pervading and indeed constituting his consciousness. If the student was to study and appreciate “Lord Jim” written by Joseph Conrad in the later half of 19th century and beginning of 20th century. He or she would get acquainted with ‘ existentialism ‘and the idea that “powerful personality , is a personality at once simple and complex”.
Conrad in the ‘Socratic ‘ tone asks ‘man to know the reality of the self ‘ and created characters engaged in the pursuit of “self knowing”.
“The future is our own making, and the most striking characteristics of this century is just that development, that maturing of our consciousness which should open our eyes to that truth-or that illusion”
The professional student must understand through Lord Jim – that “man is a restless seeker of something he is not”. Thorough the novelist the student , comes to the understand that the novelist is “the chronicles of the adventures of mankind among the dangers of the Kingdom of the earth”.
And
“Liberty of imagination” is the richest procession of a Novelist”
Conrad once thrown in the ‘lonely region stress and strife’ makes effort to explore the truths of human existence. .
“Art is long and life is short and success is very far off. And thus, doubtful of strength to travel so far. We talk little about the aim-the aim of art, which like, itself , is inspiring, difficult-obscured by mists. It is not in the clean logic of a triumphant conclusion; it is not in the unveiling of one of those heartless secrets which are called the laws of Nature.[ Joseph Conrad, preface, in The Nigger of the ‘Narcissism’ page 6.]”
In the life of man, aim is not well defined the existential man transcends to the height of glory and achievement as a ‘for itself’ but there are obstacles and “success is far off”.
“Man’s ‘fidelity to himself’ in the light of his own heart’s gospel to his self created principles of life for a meaningful existence.
In terms of payments or placements in jobs a professionally qualified engineer or manager who has learned to love himself for his uniqueness and vision will be better paid than his peers, who have only the information of the technical subjects. The technical know how is indeed necessary but to add value to that is a knowledge of the prospectives of mankind is through the appreciation of Literary works.
Once again I would reiterate that there can be nothing more essential to human development than literature, the written word. The essence of man is language, word, thought – and literature is the actualization of language in a definitive format that is translated from human nature and archetype to man as individual. From the beginning of time, man has developed in accordance with language. From the first sounds we make as infants, our first words, the communication of mankind through words, language is man’s part in the creative act of God. Through language, we transcend time and space and participate in ultimate act of creation. We find in John 3:16 that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Not only is the Word Christ, man’s salvation, but also man’s essence the word was made flesh in the creation of man and the development in man of language. Similarly, in Genesis, God calls creation into being through word. Through language, the universe comes to exist, and through man’s participation in language, we participate in that creative act as created and as creator the creator of language and of literature.
The earliest works of literature prove man’s place as creator. From Gilgamesh, to the Egyptian tombs, to the Greek philosophers, we find that man is defined by archetype, by universals. Literature defines man. Regardless of time or place, we can all relate to the passion of Gilgamesh, the sorrow of Oedipus Rex, and the joy of Odysseus when he finally arrives home and finds Penelope. So to read literature is to come to understand man’s nature, to find that man’s innate nature as animal rationale does not change over the course of centuries, but remains the source of all that we do, as participants in the creative act through thought and word.
Literature is also tied directly to the political realm. Not only does literature analyze and comment on a political order, in the plays of Euripides or Nietzsche’s “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” it also shapes the political order. Used as a tool, literature can make or break a society. It can instil an agonistic spirit, a love of competition and pride for one’s homeland, as the Greek philosophies, or it can lead to ruin, destitution and despair, as Marx’s Communist Manifesto. However, the beauty that arises even out of such despair can be surprising. Russian novels of the 19th century stem directly from communist thought and influence, but what works of literature they are! They show us a people with a strong tie to the land, their mother Land Russia, a love for wisdom and goodness, and a literary medium that until that time was obsolete.
Literature also gives man a sense of self, a sense of place. For example, the southern Agrarians, (in North America) who had to work to rebuild a society after devastating loss and humiliation, the Russians who created an outlet for the true Russia to survive, or the King Arthur stories that show that man, needs a myth, a particular story that defines his place in the world; this we get almost exclusively from literature. Just as literature defines man as a universal being so does literature define man in a particular society? Without it, we would have no sense of self. Without the writings of the Puritans, Hawthorne’s “Scarlet Letter,” or Thoreau’s “Life in the Woods,” we as a culture would have little understanding of the founding of our own country, and how could a civilization survive without a sense of self and pride among its citizens? A culture needs a founding myth in order to survive; without literature, we have none of that, and lie in a wasteland of ruin and despair.
What use would growth of technological education be then?
Would the Engineer or Manager be successful in his profession without a comprehension of man himself?
About Prof(Dr) Kum Kum Ray
Prof(Dr) Kum Kum Ray, Senior Cambridge, B.A(Hons) from Lady Shri Ram College (Delhi University) has a varied experience of teaching English for more than two an a half decade. She is a poet, writer, consultant for ‘English for Special Purposes’. Prof. Ray has National and International exposure in conducting sessions, paper presentations and bringing forth innovative views on Technical English, Corporate Communications and Survival Soft Skills.
She was Head of the Department N.I.E.C. (U.P. Technical University) for 6 years and is presently Prof & Director Amity School of Languages, for the past five years.
**ELTWeekly would like to thank Prof(Dr) Kum Kum Ray for contributing this article.