May 27, 2016 Imprint Picks: “The Fall of Language In The Age of English” (2015)
“Prior to the late 18th century in Europe, no distinction existed between literature and the pursuit of knowledge. The word “literature” then referred to any kind of writing. Divinity schools were the only place of learning. But as Europe gradually secularized, those divinity schools were transformed into today’s universities… It was around this time that literature and the pursuit of knowledge – academia – became manifestly distinct from each other. The word “literature” was by this time used almost exclusively to refer to poems, plays and novels, as it is today.
Something wonderful then happened to literature. Now that the language used in academic disciplines was far removed from the language of everyday life, people no longer turned to academic writings for words of wisdom- the sort that could address perennial human questions such as “what does it mean to be a human being?” and “how should one live?” Where previously they had sought these answers in religious texts, now they were turning to literature for enlightenment- particularly the modern novel, written in prose. Literature became something that transcended science. ”
“The Fall of Language in the Age of English” by Minae Mizumura