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Welcome to the 11 MacKillop College Literature Wiki 2010!

Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter). The study of literature is a means of exploring and making sense of human experience through the close study of texts (novels, plays, poetry, short stories and film).

It focuses on the ways readers make meaning of texts and relate their own experience to the texts. This process of making meaning involves asking questions such as: What am I reminded of when I read this? What do I expect to happen next? Whose point of view is offered that affect my response?

The study also focuses on ideas and central themes in texts and the ways texts interpret personal, social and cultural contexts. It asks in what ways do characters, events and situations convey conventions, attitudes and beliefs? What aspects of behaviour does the text question? How does the text invite readers to respond? In what ways does the text appear to be shaped by the partiular time and cultural context in which it was produced?

