Literature has always helped people understand themselves and the world around them. It shapes how people think and connect with others. Even in a fast-paced digital world, literature still plays a very active role in daily life.
In schools, literature teaches students to read closely and understand different perspectives. Nexus Education, the professional development teacher program, explained that reading builds empathy and strengthens communication skills by exposing students to new ideas and experiences.
Literature also helps students think more clearly and express themselves with confidence.
Outside the classroom, literature continues to shape how people understand major themes like love and conflict.
According to an article on FindCourses.co noted that stories help readers make sense of their own lives by showing how others have handled similar struggles. An article on Medium also points out that literature can spark conversations about social issues and influence culture in lasting ways.
Christina Christoforatou, associate professor of English at Baruch College, emphasized in an interview with The Ticker how literature remains meaningful even in difficult times. “Literature is vital and has always been relevant,” she said. She explained that people turned to older texts during the pandemic to cope with loss. Christoforatou believes literature offers comfort and clarity in ways that cannot be measured but still matter.
Sheila Spector, adjunct professor of English at Baruch, highlighted the intellectual value of reading and how it shapes students long after they leave the classroom. Spector described literature as “the verbalization of human experience.”
She expressed how students are influenced by it even when they do not realize it and explained that reading teaches people how to think critically, which is essential for participating in society.
Victor Zarour Zarzar, an adjunct professor of English at Baruch, focused on the timelessness of literature and how it connects people across generations. Zarzar shared that ancient works like the “Epic of Gilgamesh” show how human emotions have stayed the same across thousands of years.
“Pick any novel, epic, tragedy, and you will get access to someone else’s consciousness,” he told The Ticker.
Manon Hakem Lemaire, who holds a PhD in comparative literature and previously taught at Baruch, spoke about the long-term impact literature has on how students learn and interpret the world. She said literature helped her develop critical thinking, which she views as the most important skill students can gain from college.
“We forget much about the content of what we learn but the approach to learning and analyzing the world sticks,” she said.
Each professor addressed some of the common misconceptions that tend to limit how students see literature.
Christoforatou and Spector both said that people tend to assume literature has no practical value even though it teaches skills like analysis and interpretation that shape how people think. Zarzar and Lemaire added that students sometimes believe literature is outdated, despite revealing emotions and experiences that have stayed the same across time.
Their perspectives show that literature continues to matter because it develops essential skills that help people understand one another. They emphasized that reading supports clear thinking and thoughtful communication in a world that moves quickly.
Based on their insights, literature will likely remain an important part of how people learn and make sense of society.
