This brilliant guide provides an introductory overview of the history of 'literature' as a cultural concept, reflecting on its contemporary nature, place and function, and what the literary might mean for us today.

This introductory volume provides an accessible overview of the history of 'Literature' as a cultural concept, and reflects on the contemporary nature, place and function of what the literary might mean for us today. This volume: offers a concise history of the canonic concept of 'literature' from its earliest origins illustrates the kinds of theoretical issues which are currently invoked by the term 'literary' promotes the potential 'uses of the literary' within an millennial culture With Literature Peter Widdowson provides a thought provoking essay on the contemporary relevance of the 'literary' for students.

Acknowledgements 1. What Is 'Literature'? Some (Non-)Definitions 2. What Has 'Literature' Been? A History of the Concept, Part One: Origins to Orthodoxies 3. What Has Happened to 'Literature'? A History of the Concept, Part Two: After the 1960s 4. What Is 'The Literary'? 5. The Uses of 'The Literary': Newstories 6. Watch This Space Endnotes References Index