Why does Western Academia treat literature like real history?

During the First World War, thousands of soldiers were treated for “shell shock,” a condition which encompassed a range of physical and psychological. ... read more

Literary works can be source documents for history (but no more). Knowledge of history obviously helps scholars of literature understand why an author wrote a certain thing at a certain time. But nobody in either field - student or professor - would identify literature and history as being treated in exactly the same way. read more

The civilizations of Classical Greece and Ancient Rome are considered seminal periods in Western history; a few cultural contributions also emerged from the pagan peoples of pre-Christian Europe, such as the Celts and Germans, as well as some significant religious contributions derived from Judaism and Hellenistic Judaism stemming back to Second Temple Judea, Galilee, and the early Jewish diaspora; and some other Middle Eastern influences. read more

Western culture, the prime example of this type of culture, exhibits levels of freedom, opportunity, health, wealth, productivity, innovation, satisfaction, comfort, and life expectancy unprecedented in history. Western civilization represents man at his best. read more