Upon interviewing my three roommates, I received the following responses about what "Literature" and "Civilization" mean:
Literature
Person 1. Written works, especially those of superior or lasting artistic merit (not-so-subtly taken from googling the definition)
Person 2. Books and stuff (a definition that gets right to the point)
Person 3. All forms of writing, both creative and professional (somewhere in between the other two)
Civilization
Person 1. A group of people cooperating to create a better future (interesting, and at least it wasn't googled)
Person 2. Cities and stuff (at least he's consistent in style)
Person 3. Establishment and progression of society (my personal favorite)
