Historicizing Comparative Literature in the Postcolonial Era

Constantin Sonkwé Tayim

Abstract


This paper brings up the history of comparative literature from its beginning to the postcolonial era, discussing the challenges and controversies that have shaped the history of the discipline and practice. Drawing mainly upon Edward Said’s thought, but also other prominent theorists, the paper sketches the evolution of the concept of comparative literature on the one hand, and on the other hand, it shows through some recent examples of transnational and transcultural questions, how difficult it is in the contemporary context of Globalization to preserve the nation as a space and concept of reference for the writing of the history of literature, due to the very fact of the transformation of the nation and its contours in recent decades. It is also about showing that despite the circulation of worlds and the challenge of the nation’s rigid borders by the process of migration among others, the nation is not yet disqualified as a framework and substructure for literary production. It further discusses the relationship between literature and nation in the contemporary context as well as the issues of transnationality and world literariness, using two examples from France and Nigeria.

Keywords


Comparative literature, World Literature, National Literature, France, Nigeria postcolonialism

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aloh, E. (2012). Writing the New African: Migration and Modern African Literary Identity, [online] available http://www.africanwriter.com/writing-the-new-african-migration-and-modern-african-literary-identity/ ,4.7.2014.

Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined Communities. Reflexions on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. . London: Verso.

Baldensperger, F., & Hazard, P. (1921). Revue de Littérature Comparée. Paris: Librairie Eduard Champion.

Bhabha, H. K. (1990). Nation and Narration. London: Routledge.

Bourdieu, P. (1992). Les règles de l'art. Genèse et structure du champs littéraire. Paris: Seuil.

Brennan, T. (1995). The National Longing for Form. In: B. Aschcroft, G. Griffith, & H. Tiffin, The Postcolonial Studies Reader (pp. 170-175). London; New York: Routledge.

Carré, J.-M. (1965). Avant-Propos. In: M.-F. Guyard, La littérature comparée. Paris: PUF.

Forster, G. (1970). Werke in vier Bänden: Kleine Schriften zu Kunst, Literatur, Philosophie, Geschichte und Politik (Vol. 3). Berlin: Insel Verlag.

Foucault, M. (1969). L'archéologie du savoir. Paris: Gallimard.

Pizer, J. (2006). The Idea of World Literature: History and Pedagogical Practice. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.

Kirsch, F. P. (2000). Écrivains au carrefour des cultures. Bordeau: Presses Universitaires de Bordeau.

Mbembe, A. (2001). On the Postcolony. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Migraine-George, T. (2013). From Francophone to World Literature in French. Sample Books and Chapters. University of Nebraska Presse, [Online] available http://www. Digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples/221/

Miller, C. L. (2011). The Theory and Pedagogy of a World Literature in French. Yale French Studies N° 120(2011), pp. 33-48.

Nganang, A. P. (2013). La Saison des Prunes. Paris : Philippe Rey.

New Nigerian Newspaper. (2005). The New Nigerian Newspaper. Online available: https://newnigeriannewspaper.com/, 14.6.2005.

Remak, H. (1961). Comparative Literature, its Definition and Function. In: H. Frenz, & Newton P. Stallknecht, Comparative Literature: Method and Perspective (pp. 3-37). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

Rouaud, J.et.al. (2007). Pour une 'littérature monde' en Francais. Le Monde. Translated by David Simon [Online] available: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Toward+a+%22world-literature%22+in+French.-a0195523019.

Rushdie, S. (1988). The Satanic Verses. London: Viking.

Rushdie, S. (2009). Commonwealth Literature Does Not Exist. In: V. Ramraj, Concert of Voices. An Anthology of World Writing in English (pp. 448-466). Peterborough: Braodview.

Said, E. W. (1979). Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.

Said, E. (1994). Culture and Imperialism. London: Alfred Knopf.

Schulz, H.-J., & H. Rhein, P. (1973). Comparative Literature: The Early Years. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.

Simo, D. (2014). Les vertus heuristiques de la marginalité. Perspectives postcoloniales sur les littératures européennes. In: P. Rabaut-Feuerhahn, Théories intercontinentales. Voyages du comparatisme postcolonial (pp. 207-225). Paris : Demopolis.

Stockhammer, R. (2016). Afrikanische Philologie. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

Tieghem, P. V. (1931). La littérature comparée. Paris : A. Colin.

Wellek, R. (2009). The Crisis of Comparative Literature. In: D. Damrosch, N. Melas, M. Buthelezi, (eds.), The Princeton Sourcebook in Comparative Literature. From the European Enlightment to the Global Present (pp. 161-172). Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.8n.4p.28

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

2013-2023 (CC-BY) Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD.

International Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies

You may require to add the 'aiac.org.au' domain to your e-mail 'safe list’ If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox'. Otherwise, you may check your 'Spam mail' or 'junk mail' folders.