Current Status and Prospects of ‘Literature’ Education as a Liberal Arts Curriculum of Universities
Authors: Ahn Mi Young 
Published: September 2021

This article seeks ways in which to educate literature as part of the liberal arts curriculum for universities. In response to changes in the university's curriculum and system, this article examined the current status of liberal arts “literature” courses, Also, this article explored the methods used in the teaching of literature courses as basic studies. Literary works have been used as useful teaching materials in early writing education, and classical texts have achieved their goals by utilizing proven literary works. In cultural education, literary works are also used as a primary source and as part of media education. In terms of the university system, the Humanities departments have begun to disappear. Literary education has resulted in a situation in which liberal arts have to take charge, and so now it is necessary to ask questions regarding the identity of literature and to examine the methods of teaching literature education. Before this article discussed the methods involved with literature education as a basic study, we looked at the prior discussions on literature education as liberal arts education. Interest in literature education began in the mid-1980s, and research became active around 2010. Interest in and research on literature education as liberal arts education has also been gradually increasing, and a series of facts suggest the legitimacy of literature subjects as basic studies, along with a willingness to actively communicate with the changed educational environment. In order to better understand the methods of teaching literature education at the university level, this article examined the link between secondary and university education. The current secondary education curriculum was revised in 2015, and both secondary and higher education implement competency education for talent development required by the times, and the ultimate goal is the same. However, since literature must reach the achievement standards designated through textbooks in the middle school curriculum, there is a limit to internalize the literature. Literature education in universities shall take into account the university's talent award and educational goals, but may develop literary skills by maximizing the experience of actively interpreting and enjoying literature through various teaching methods. In liberal arts education at universities, literature courses should be able to capture academic universality and achievements as basic studies. Literature courses should be teach to read the narratives of media that form diverse cultures and cultivate interpretations that can allow our students to discover the value of the times in which they live. The particular language of literature should be understood and the theoretical basis for understanding and enjoying the flow of human history and civilization should be taught through Mimesis (reenactment), narrative and plot, point of view and the speaker, critical methodology, and the literature itself. Through a self-reliant and active interpretation of the work, one should be able to identify the literary principles embodied in the work, and tell what discourse the work has created in the lives of one's contemporaries.