Amanda Thomas                                                                                                                                                                          HUMN 220                                                                                                                                                                        Akman                                                                                                                                                                                                     Blog #1                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                         How to Read World Culture; Why Read It?                   

                 Entering this class I know a little bit about humanities from a previous class, but why should college students read world literature and understand it?  Many students do not know why certain classes are requirements but I think having a basic understanding of what the humanities is and how it should be read and interpreted is a good place for any college student to start.
                According to the author reading world literature can bring about different cultural experiences (pg. 1). By reading books from different times and places from all over the world about the humans past can bring insight into the human mind and allow us to learn from the past and how other cultures interpret different things. Something that may happen in America can be perceived in China or Spain as something different and a way that has shaped America as it is known today.
                "Cultures develop distinct assumptions about ways it should be created and understood" (pg. 1). This is similar to how a different country or different cities can interpret something that is written and how someone should interpret it. Different cultures and civilizations have different beliefs and by bring them together can bring about a different idea and new way of reading about that certain culture. Reading about it can also bring about a way to interpret what is happening and how someone should react to it and j=how it might influence ones life. By reading world literature one can highlight key events or idea that may have help to shape the human and the life of someone today from something from the past. One can also learn about how different cultures can be or how similar they can be to one's own. Reading word literature can show that there are differences and similarities today to the past an to all the different cultures around the globe.       
               Reading certain works from the Greeks can build up expectations that someone might have about the Romans such as how one work influenced another and how closely works between the two are related. Certain works with similarities can help bring up expectations of what someone might think about that certain culture. It is also said that one can encounter many different traditions (pg. 11). Some traditions have stayed the same over the years due to the fact of global literature. By reading about something a culture wants to keep it alive and therefore the tradition is passed down from generation to generation. 
              A final reason to read world literature is for one to expand their horizon. Learning bout different culture and ideas and things from the past can shape one future and have a better understanding of what is really going on in the world around them. It can also show someone the intense cultural changes that one faced throughout human history. It also allows one to have a better understanding of classical works of the past and influenced it has had on those cultures and how people learned from that. Reading about world literature is good to showcase what one knows about the past and how has impacted other humans and cultures and civilizations that it formed from the works.