WHY WORLD LITERATURE NOW?

How is the spectacular re-emergence of “world literature” since the turn of the third millennium to be explained? I suggest that ever since the coining of the term in the early nineteenth century, but especially so since the year 2000, world literature has been defined and redefined to fit the need...

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Main Author: Theo D'haen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bucharest University Press 2022-02-01
Series:University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TheoD%E2%80%99haen.pdf
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author Theo D'haen
author_facet Theo D'haen
author_sort Theo D'haen
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description How is the spectacular re-emergence of “world literature” since the turn of the third millennium to be explained? I suggest that ever since the coining of the term in the early nineteenth century, but especially so since the year 2000, world literature has been defined and redefined to fit the needs of particular times and places, in accordance with the shifting fates of specific linguistic and cultural entities on the world map. To this end I consider some recent European, American and Chinese discussions of world literature by a.o. David Damrosch, Pascal Casanova, Franco Moretti and Wang Ning. However, I first argue that world literature in fact is only the latest paradigm to be used to serve the ends of particular groups of scholars, with the study of modernism and postmodernism serving as my examples of earlier such paradigms, specifically in the United States.
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spelling doaj.art-2c1314264c784e2ab3057855cb8767122023-11-02T06:54:46ZengBucharest University PressUniversity of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series2734-59632022-02-01I/20111WHY WORLD LITERATURE NOW?Theo D'haenHow is the spectacular re-emergence of “world literature” since the turn of the third millennium to be explained? I suggest that ever since the coining of the term in the early nineteenth century, but especially so since the year 2000, world literature has been defined and redefined to fit the needs of particular times and places, in accordance with the shifting fates of specific linguistic and cultural entities on the world map. To this end I consider some recent European, American and Chinese discussions of world literature by a.o. David Damrosch, Pascal Casanova, Franco Moretti and Wang Ning. However, I first argue that world literature in fact is only the latest paradigm to be used to serve the ends of particular groups of scholars, with the study of modernism and postmodernism serving as my examples of earlier such paradigms, specifically in the United States.http://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TheoD%E2%80%99haen.pdfworld literaturecomparative literatureliterary historyliterary theory
spellingShingle Theo D'haen
WHY WORLD LITERATURE NOW?
University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series
world literature
comparative literature
literary history
literary theory
title WHY WORLD LITERATURE NOW?
title_full WHY WORLD LITERATURE NOW?
title_fullStr WHY WORLD LITERATURE NOW?
title_full_unstemmed WHY WORLD LITERATURE NOW?
title_short WHY WORLD LITERATURE NOW?
title_sort why world literature now
topic world literature
comparative literature
literary history
literary theory
url http://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/TheoD%E2%80%99haen.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT theodhaen whyworldliteraturenow