Nauczanie i studiowanie literatury u progu „Osobliwości”

Abstract

“Singularity” in physics means “a point or region of infinite mass density at which space and time are infinitely distorted by gravitational forces and which is held to be the final state of matter falling into a black hole”, but in futurology it refers broadly to “a hypothetical future point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization”. That point seems to be drawing near, and the consequences of its arrival will surely be massive, and possibly disastrous. In any case, we are already witnessing an unprecedented revolution in the field of human communication: the Age of Print is giving way to the Digital Age, and its latest development is universally accessible artificial intelligence. In view of these upheavals, does it still make sense to teach and study literature? And if so, what kind of literature will be relevant and interesting for future generations? How to teach it? In my view, it is very possible to answer these and similar questions in the affirmative. The precondition, however, is to adopt to the changing circumstances of human (and post-human) life, to consider literary texts in their wide cultural contexts as well as in their various non-literary incarnations (play, film, computer game, etc.), and to adopt the technique of so-called “deep reading.” The present essay will present several examples of English-language literary texts that seem to be worthy of studying and teaching on the eve of Singularity.