Reading Literature in an Information Age

Is there something distinctive about reading, studying, and/or producing literature in an information age? Is literature's status as a form of deep social engagement and a way to produce broad social changes in jeopardy given the way STEM and the social sciences are represented in U.S. culture at large? Has the literary become obsolete in a video-driven media environment? And what place does the literary occupy in an information world? Enrollment limited to 20.