The crucial role of literature in the generation of knowledge and critical thinking

Abstract

This article addresses two major issues in education today: the generation and processing of knowledge and the crucial role of the humanities, literature in particular, in the development of students with individual world views and unique senses of identity. The article presents an argument for a holistic and open-ended (as opposed to prescriptive) approach to knowledge generation and proposes the acknowledgement of differences and choices that should be considered in the construction of future scenarios for educational practices. The argument is less concerned with content (that is, the syllabus as such) or the practicalities of education, than with the basic approach to and facilitation of the process of education and knowledge acquisition within specific cultural and social contexts and the role of literature in that process.