Literature is literally "acquaintance with letters" as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning "an individual written character (letter)"). The term has generally come to identify a collection of texts, which in Western culture are mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction, drama and poetry. In much, if not all of the world, texts can be oral as well, and include such genres as epic, legend, myth, ballad, other forms of oral poetry, and the folktale.

Introduction

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Nations can have literatures, as can corporations, philosophical schools or historical periods. Popular belief commonly holds that the literature of a nation, for example, comprises the collection of texts which make it a whole nation. The Hebrew Bible, Persian Shahnama, Thirukural, Beowulf, the Iliad and the Odyssey and the Constitution of the United States, all fall within this definition of a kind of literature.

More on [ Literature ]

David Lynch : Transcendental Meditation

What is the field of consciousness?
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Can you explain about consciousness? The field of consciousness, the field of pure consciousness, as explained by Dr. John Hagelin, is also known as the Unified Field—the Unified Field found at the base of all matter. And it’s found at the base of all mind, at the source of thought. And this Unified Field is also beyond space and time. It’s unbounded and eternal; it’s beyond duality. It’s oneness; it’s unity. An [...]
Drugs or meditation
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Have you ever used hallucinogenic drugs for inspiration, or have you done it entirely through meditation? I have smoked marijuana. But I don’t smoke it any more. And I was pretty lucky—and it’s a true thing. You know, I went to art school in the ’60s. So you can imagine what was going on. And yet my friends were the ones: they said, “No, no, no, David: don’t you take those drugs.”

How do ideas become a script?
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
How do you find your ideas, and how do you form them into a script? That’s a beautiful question. I think a desire for an idea is like a bait. And I say it’s like fishing. You desire an idea. And when you go fishing, you know you have to have patience. And you bait your hook, and then you just kind of wait. But the desire is that bait that pulls those fish in—those ideas. And the beautiful thing is: when you catch one fish that yo [...]
Music and consciousness
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Can you explain how you use music to transform consciousness within your story? But it doesn’t expand—music doesn’t expand consciousness. The only thing that expands consciousness… You know, they have these so-called “consciousness raising” groups. What they’re doing is sharing information, or giving information. It doesn’t raise consciousness. Consciousness can be raised only by experiencing that d [...]
Does meditation protect you?
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
How can you just so fully commit to the violent, dark nature of life—mostly in Twin Peaks, I think, and all of them—how can you be so committed to that darkness without being harmed by it? And how does meditation help you with that? In a way—this is a strange thing, but it’s a true thing in my experience–bliss is like a flack jacket. Bliss is like a protecting thing. If you have so much bliss, they say it’s [...]
Where to meditate, even on location
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Could you share your technique for being able to meditate twice a day while you’re shooting your films? Yes. I wanted this meditation. And I think that the key is this desire for it. And where it came from, you know, I don’t know for sure, but I wanted it. And so I have never missed a meditation in those 32 years, twice a day, morning and afternoon. You wake up, you do your meditation, and then you go about your business. And in the ev [...]

Education: News & Videos about Education - CNN.com

Math tests for kindergartners?
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:48:00 -0400
The city is asking public school principals to consider giving math tests to kindergartners, a proposal that comes amid debate over the growing use of standardized tests nationwide.
Mom finds U.S. lagging in early education
Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:56:00 -0400
That's my girl, I thought, as Olivia tore away from us to join the other 5-year-olds for circle time -- legs crossed, hand stick-straight in the air in response to the teacher's question about how the kids spent Father's Day.
U.S. Colleges' Green Grade: C-
Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:00:00 -0400
Campuses may be getting greener, but college curriculums are falling behind in teaching students the basics of global warming and sustainability

UN News Centre - Culture, Education

Melbourne books its place in UN cultural network of cities
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Melbourne has been declared a City of Literature by the United Nations cultural agency, joining a global network of cities set up to promote their cultural, social and economic development in fields ranging from gastronomy to music to folk art.
UN agency gives laptops to youth at technology conference
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations technology agency announced today that it will give away free laptops to each of the young participants attending its Asia conference in Bangkok this weekend.
Top UN envoy in Liberia stresses importance of education
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Liberian children deserve the opportunity to attend school, the top United Nations envoy to the West African nation said today, calling on families to make their children's education a priority as the country rebuilds after years of civil war.

U.S. Department of Education

Higher Ed Grants to Help Students with Disabilities
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:45:00 -0000
The Department announced the award of $6.7 million in grants to 23 higher education organizations to help them develop pilot projects for students with disabilities.
Grant to Utah to Help Create More Charter Schools
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:14:00 -0000
ED's Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement Doug Mesecar visited Guadalupe Schools in Salt Lake City today to present an $8,533,334 Charter Schools Program grant to the Utah State Department of Education. Utah's Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert and Vice Chairman of the Utah State Board of Education Mark Cluff joined Mesecar for the announcement.
Career and Technical Education Grants
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:08:00 -0000
ED has awarded a total of $750,000 in grants to six states to help strengthen and enhance career and technical education (CTE) programs. Indiana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nebraska, Florida, and Hawaii have received grants to support partnerships that will create new CTE programs, or adopt existing ones, that will align secondary and postsecondary education courses needed to prepare students for further education and employment.

BBC News | Education | UK Edition

Pre-school 'gives maths boost'
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:47:52 -0000
Going to a good nursery school boosts a child's chances of achieving in maths at the age of 10, experts say.
Database of children is delayed
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:09:13 -0000
A database of every child in England due to be piloted in October has been delayed for the second time.
Redcoat degree at seaside resort
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:32:45 -0000
Butlins teams up with the University of Chichester to offer a two-year musical theatre course in Bognor Regis.
'Positive' key classroom results
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:03:25 -0000
School assessments show improvements but still a gap between girls and boys in Wales.
Seven-year-olds' results plateau
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:22:33 -0000
Results for England's seven-year-olds in national curriculum tests remain at the same level as last year.
Young 'dreaming of living abroad'
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:12:04 -0000
Seven out of 10 young people want to work abroad one day - but most do not have a second language, research suggests.
Nigerian state bans co-ed schools
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:19:11 -0000
Bauchi State in Nigeria bans girls and boys from going to schools together because of poor performance.
Drop in 'good' childminders
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:06:50 -0000
A smaller proportion of childminders in England are offering childcare rated "good", says Ofsted.
Exam board to help sort out Sats
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:11:58 -0000
Exam board Edexcel is given a contract to provide "back-room" support for the remarking of England's Sats papers.
All pupils to learn about slavery
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:36:12 -0000
Slavery and the British empire is being made a compulsory part of the secondary school curriculum in England.
Roma's struggle
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:19:51 -0000
Czech attitudes change following landmark ruling
Subject by subject
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:32:49 -0000
Compare your grades with everyone else's
More pressure
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:19:38 -0000
New target hanging over hundreds of schools.
Quads celebrate
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:58:24 -0000
University and A-level success for awesome foursome
Sats 'shambles'
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:48:52 -0000
What next for England's troubled testing system?
E-mail us
Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:22:01 -0000
How to contact the BBC News website education team
Jump in top GCSE exam grades
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:21:51 -0000
There has been the biggest annual rise since 1990 in the proportion of GCSE exams awarded the best grades.
Students taught computer hacking
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:33:25 -0000
A university offers a postgraduate degree in computer hacking and security so students can help protect systems.
Languages still slipping at GCSE
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:52:54 -0000
Fewer people are taking modern languages and fewer GCSEs have been taken overall, results from the exam boards show.
Results show regional variations
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:47:50 -0000
The first breakdown of results in England's GCSE entries reveals regional differences, with the North East and London doing well.
Schools keen to pass 30% target
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:15:31 -0000
Many secondary schools will be discovering whether they have beaten a new government GCSE target.
Pushy parents can act as agents
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:30:18 -0000
Parents can now act as agents to handle their children's university applications - and then turn up for the interviews too.
No quick exit from GCSE challenge
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:08:22 -0000
Even if GCSE results this week raise schools above the 30% threshold, they can remain in the National Challenge programme.
Decline in number of childminders
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:53:19 -0000
The number of childminders in England has continued falling in the face of increasing regulation.
US to back 21st century learning
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:51:13 -0000
The US Congress backs plans to bring technological advances from the business world into the classroom.
University used in Nigerian scam
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:55:33 -0000
The name of Liverpool Hope University is being used in an internet scam in Nigeria.
Teacher concerns over CCTV
Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:22:41 -0000
Many teachers say they are concerned about "hidden" surveillance cameras located in their schools.
Sats marking contract is scrapped
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:55:42 -0000
The contract between exams authority the QCA and troubled marking firm ETS is ended by "mutual consent".
Cash for youth diversity projects
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:52:46 -0000
Children's Minister Beverley Hughes allocates £4.5m to programmes to unite youngsters from different backgrounds.
'Bravest' students do not cheat
Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:08:42 -0000
The most courageous students are least likely to cheat in class, US researchers say.
What future for schools?
Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:38:48 -0000
Mike Baker considers the big picture of where schools should be heading in the future.
Tests - do we still need them?
Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:00:26 -0000
Mike Baker considers whether the "high stakes" testing regime is still needed.
Future of league tables
Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:37:46 -0000
Mike Baker says it is hard to see how performance tables can be published on the basis of this year's school tests.
Was there ever a golden age?
Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:37:54 -0000

Digging for hope
Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:33:14 -0000
English teenagers help African village build classrooms
'Try teaching' scheme booming
Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:06:40 -0000
A scheme that gets American graduates to try teaching in tough areas before other careers is proving a hit.
When pupils are too shy to learn
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:16:57 -0000
"Invisible children" too shy to put up their hands could be helped by a scheme to boost their social skills.
Multiple difficulty?
Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:07:09 -0000
Why multiple choice exams trouble dyslexics
What is BBC News School Report?
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:13:39 -0000
Find out more about the project which motivates secondary students around the UK to make and broadcast their own news.

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