World Literature in Theory (eBook)

World Literature in Theory

"With this collection of essays, David Damrosch takes us on a breathtaking ride through the history and geography of the term "world literature"— and demonstrates that it is quite simply the most productive concept in literary theory today."
Martin Puchner, Harvard University

"Vigorous and capacious, featuring unexpected contributors such as Nicolas Sarkozy, and covering material ranging from the globe-trotting work of Apuleius to the digital modernism of Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries, this impressive volume recovers genealogies of world literature from India, China, Brazil, Ireland. Putting the problematics of translation front and center, it creates a rich dialogue across languages and regions, even as it brings new energies to world literature in the age of globalization."
Wai Chee Dimock, Yale University

World Literature in Theory is an adventurous exploration of the pressing questions facing those studying world literature today. This reader brings together more than 30 essays by some of the most influential scholars in world literature. The essays allow students and scholars to consider important questions, including: How do we gain an adequate grounding in multiple cultures? How do we make intelligent choices about what to read? How do we avoid skimming the surface of complex works that must be read in translation? How do we avoid a simple projection of our own cultures and values on the wider world? How do we negotiate the changing cultural, political, and economic landscape of the texts and ourselves?

This collection brings together important contributions by Goethe, Hugo Meltzl, Jorge Luis Borges, Edward Said, Franco Moretti, Gayatri Spivak, and many more. The volume's four parts examine the origins and seminal formulations of the concept, world literature in the age of globalization, contemporary debates, and world literature in its manifestations around the world. Damrosch provides substantive introductions to each essay, as well as an annotated bibliography for further reading. Without shying away from the subject's inherent complexities, this collection allows readers to understand, articulate, and debate the most important issues in this rapidly changing field of study.