What is Literature? What is Civilization?

For this assignment I attempted to collect definitions of “literature” and “civilization” from a diverse group of people. Accordingly, I interviewed both a male and two females who range in age from 19-50, are from different areas of the country, and who are studying or practicing different professions. I made sure to stress that the goal was to capture the individual’s own personal definitions of the respective terms.

Name: Jessica H. Age: 19 Profession: Student (Accounting) Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas

Jessica defined literature as “a written culture of a person’s works that are influenced by many things” and civilization as “a group of developed people with structural systems”

Name: Jordan G. Age: 21 Profession: Student (Finance) Hometown: Greenwich, Connecticut 

Jordan defined literature as “a collection of writings, symbols, stories, and oral traditions specific to a group of people who share the same beliefs and values” and civilization as “an organized collection of individuals who agree to follow the same set of formal and informal rules and traditions".

Name: Lannie M. Age: 50 Profession: Architect Hometown: Abilene, Texas

Lannie defined literature as “written works that unite and display commonalities within a defined culture” and civilization as “groupings of people who live in a centralized location”