The Variation Theory Of Comparative Literature

Download or read book The Variation Theory of Comparative Literature written by Shunqing Cao and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-03-21 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seeing the restrictions of former studies in Comparative Literature and aiming to amend these deficiencies, the author of this book mainly discusses the major theoretical significance and academic value of the Variation Theory in the whole process of the development of Comparative Literature in the world. In China the seminal comparative study of literature among different cultures can be dated back to ancient China, while the founding of comparative literature as a distinct academic discipline has to be largely owing to the influence of the West. The modern Chinese study of comparative literature formed its uniqueness under Western influence. The direct influence of the translation of western theories into China is remarkable. However, in the course of translation and reception of Western theories, Chinese comparatists and intellectuals have been encountering various problems, and solving them with an alternative method accordingly different from the traditional methods proposed by the French School and the American School. Therefore, in this book, modern Chinese study of comparative literature is put in a historical context with regard to the theoretical issue of the discipline in China through the entire 20th century. At present, many scholars in China and in other countries agree that, with the influence study proposed by the French School and the study of analogy advocated by the American School, the entire theoretical system of Comparative Literature is well built. However, when the comparative study of literature between East and West is concerned, the theory of Comparative Literature is far from perfect. It is not only because many problems still exist, but there are significant defects in their theoretical bases respectively. Many researches have proven that even with the influence study and the study of analogy, we still can not solve many problems in the practice of studies in comparative literature. This does not mean that we have no respect for the contributions of the French School and the American School; we just want to attach importance to literary variations, which is a phenomenon that has long been neglected. The purpose of putting forward the Variation Theory in Comparative Literature is to provide new perspectives, new methods and new theory to the study of comparative literature, which may be a major breakthrough in the international arena of Comparative Literature. The neglect of literary variation is mainly because all the previous theories about comparative literature start off in search of similarities but not differences. Accordingly, in 1990s heterogeneity as a premise of comparability was put forward. And later, the variation theory was further advanced. It is not only the important phenomenon in literary communication, but also the most valuable research object in Comparative Literature. Still, it will be an important path to cultural innovation. The Variation Theory may make up the major flaws of theories by both French school and the American School since it focus on heterogeneity and variability in cross-cultural literary events, especially the ones of inter-civilization which will be a new course for comparative literature. Throughout the history of literature and the history of literary communication, collisions between different civilizations have always been producing new literary events which make the heterogeneity of different civilizations and variability traceable. The higher stage of literary communication may mean dialogue and blend between different cultures. The overarching concerns of this book include different levels of variation in literary communication and the studies of different objects. The introduction begins with a literature review of major achievements made by the French School and the American School with pointing out what they have neglected. The body of the book is divided into three parts. In the first part, Chapter 1 deals with the major contributions of influence study and its weaknesses. The origination of comparative literature in most of European countries is reviewed first, and then the major contributions of the French School are listed to point out its merits and weaknesses. The author discusses the relation between Influence Study and the Variation Theory and the importance of the French school in theoretical development of comparative literature is stressed too. Chapter 2 offers a critical introduction and reflection on the study of analogy . Both its major contributions and weaknesses are made clear to further illustrate the relationship between interpretation and the Variation Theory. And the discursive variation is discussed. Part II is a transitional part with only one chapter that gives a clear account of phenomenon of variation from international perspective. Part III consists of four chapters. Chapter 4 offers a detailed description of The Variation Theory in cross-languages context. Chapter 5 deals with cross-cultural variation in homogeneous circle of civilization. Chapter 6 discusses the variation among heterogeneous civilization. For a long period of time the theoretical study of comparative literature in China has largely been confined to the Chinese academic arena, thus has long been neglected. On one hand western comparatists have gradually realized the importance of a non-western perspective in the study of the discipline; on the other hand, few books are available to introduce the recent development of comparative literature study in China. Compared with the enthusiastic reception of the theories of the French School and the American School, the theories of Chinese comparatists receives relatively little attention in western countries. In this sense, the proposed book attempts to challenge the myth of monolithic theories of comparative literature, trying to construct an alternative theory of the discipline.

Download or read book Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee written by and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Comparative Literature written by Ben Hutchinson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Considering literature comparatively can help readers realize how much can be learned by looking beyond the horizon of their own cultures, discovering not only more about other literatures, but also about their own. Ben Hutchinson offers a history of comparative literature, placing it at the heart of literary criticism.

Download or read book A Comparative History of Literatures in the Iberian Peninsula written by Fernando Cabo Aseguinolaza and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2010-05-26 with total page 766 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Comparative History of Literatures in the Iberian Peninsula is the second comparative history of a new subseries with a regional focus, published by the Coordinating Committee of the International Comparative Literature Association. As its predecessor for East-Central Europe, this two-volume history distances itself from traditional histories built around periods and movements, and explores, from a comparative viewpoint, a space considered to be a powerful symbol of inter-literary relations. Both the geographical pertinence and its symbolic condition are obviously discussed, when not even contested. Written by an international team of researchers who are specialists in the field, this history is the first attempt at applying a comparative approach to the plurilingual and multicultural literatures in the Iberian Peninsula. The aim of comprehensiveness is abandoned in favor of a diverse and extensive array of key issues for a comparative agenda. A Comparative History of Literatures in the Iberian Peninsula undermines the primacy claimed for national and linguistic boundaries, and provides a geo-cultural account of literary inter-systems which cannot otherwise be explained.

Download or read book Death of a Discipline written by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2023-07-11 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is among the foremost figures in the study of world literature and its cultural consequences of the past half-century. In this book, originally published in 2003, she declares the death of comparative literature as we know it and sounds an urgent call for a “new comparative literature,” in which the discipline is reborn—one that is not appropriated and determined by the market. Spivak examines how comparative literature and world literature in translation have fared in the era of globalization and considers how to protect the multiplicity of languages and literatures at the university. She demonstrates why critics interested in social justice should pay close attention to literary form and offers insightful interpretations of classics such as Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. Through readings of texts not only in English, French, and German but also in Arabic and Bengali, Spivak practices what she preaches. This anniversary edition features a new preface in which Spivak reflects on the fortunes of comparative literature in the intervening years and its tasks today.

Download or read book Comparative Literature in an Age of Globalization written by Haun Saussy and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2006-05-19 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focuses on the influence of multiculturalism as a concept transforming literary and cultural studies. This book offers a comprehensive survey of comparative criticism in the 1990s. It demonstrates that comparative critical strategies can provide insights into the world's changing, and increasingly colliding, cultures.

Download or read book Introducing Comparative Literature written by César Domínguez and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-03 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introducing Comparative Literature is a comprehensive guide to the field offering clear, concise information alongside useful analysis and examples. It frames the introduction within recent theoretical debates and shifts in the discipline whilst also addressing the history of the field and its practical application. Looking at Comparative Literature within the context of globalization, cosmopolitanism and post or transnationalism, the book also offers engagement and comparison with other visual media such as cinema and e-literature. The first four chapters address the broad theoretical issues within the field such as 'interliterary theory', decoloniality, and world literature, while the next four are more applied, looking at themes, translation, literary history and comparison with other arts. This engaging guide also contains a glossary of terms and concepts as well as a detailed guide to further reading.