15th Humanities Seminar Series Report

On the 18^th of January, I attended the 15^th Humanities Seminar Series 2010 which was themed “ The Role Of Literature In An Age of Turbulence” The Speaker was Dr Kirpal Singh who is an accomplished professor, currently working as an Associate Professor of English Literature and Creative Thinking in the School of Social Sciences of Singapore Management University (SMU).

Introduction

To give you a better idea of what this topic is about, I would like to post a few questions. How large a role can literature play in this chaotic world? What is the significance of literature in our lives and how does it affect our society? Looking at the topic itself, we can derive a few things. Literature spontaneously incites a role in our world and it is not passive. It is not just a subject we take in school, but it has an influence in our chaotic world. Literature can come in many forms, such as stories, biographies, memoirs and poems. It expresses thoughts and imaginations, allowing us to think and experience. (*more detailed elaboration will be shown below) Then, we look at the word turbulence, an interruption of a steady state which expresses confusion and when things go wrong. Now, when we look at turbulence, anxiety would be a sustaining emotion which is associated with it. This is because there is uncertainty of what is going to happen next. People are unsure of the chain of events which may or may not occur in times of turbulence and thus, anxiety leaks. The ambiguity in literature allows it to be interpreted in many different ways and thus, gives many other complex meanings to the word turbulence in different opinions.

1^st Benefit Of literature – Risk Taking

Now, I’ll be moving on to the main gist of this topic, which would be the five benefits of literature and how it relates to this age of turbulence. Firstly, literature helps us when it comes to risk taking. In this age of turbulence, there will be many times where we will have to take risks. Thus, literature allows us to be surer of the direction we are heading by expressing other’s feelings in different situation which enables us to have a deeper understanding.

2^nd Benefit of Literature- Experiencing

Secondly, literature allows us to experience things that we may never experience and allows us to be in places where we are not present at. This plays a vital role in this age of turbulence by allowing us to prevent ordeals. When we experience negative emotions in literature such as horror, pain and agony, we will want to prevent such things from happening to ourselves or others as we would understand what it feels like. In contrast, literature also plays a role in allowing us to maintain beauty in our world. Positive emotions such as happiness, love and hope would in a way inspire us to conserve beauty.

3^rd Benefit of Literature - Thinking

Closely related to this is the next benefit of literature, which is allowing us to think! In times of turbulence, decision making and knowing how to respond is very important. In times of turbulence, we should always ask ourselves, do we respond to the issue in an animal-like manner, or do we be sensitive about the issue? Being able to be sensitive is what makes us human. Through thinking in literature, we would be able to learn how to make the right decisions and also to be sensitive towards issues/ being more humane. This would allow us to cope with turbulences and not lose our calm. Quote: “I shall do so, but I must also feel it like a man” (Mcduff in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.)

Relating Back To Anxiety

Relating back to anxiety being a sustaining emotion during turbulence, we can now point out the role literature plays and the impact of it through experiencing and thinking. Literature allows us to experience and understand the strong anxiety of the people and thus allowing us to be prepared for uncertainties in the future. It also reminds us to be able to act rationally and sensitively towards turbulences.

4^th Benefit of Literature - Imagine

Next, the fourth benefit literature would be allowing us to imagine. Ages of turbulences often enhances imaginations and thus sparking many masterpieces of literature. One example would be Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The period of the Civil Rights Movement inspired the author to write this book which very much talks about a time of discrimination and prejudice amongst the American society. Ironic as it seems, ages of turbulences in this case actually benefits us as it would give us inspiration to express our own feelings through literature and touch the hearts others with our work.

5^th Benefit of Literature - Articulation

Finally and most importantly, literature allows us to articulate. Through literature, we would be able to make connections of all the thing literature allows us to do and how it helps us to cope with turbulences.

Summary

In a nutshell, literature in times of turbulences gives us a sense of self-assurance and also enables us to understand others, whether in terms of culture, character or emotions. At the same time, it also allows us to know a country’s psychic response to turbulences. As you can see, literature indeed has an impact in our lives and our world and has a very crucial role in an age of turbulence.