Rebuilding the Profession: Comparative Literature, Intercultural Studies and the Humanities in the Age of Globalization [Hardcover]

This volume is meant to be a retrospective look at the field of Comparative Literature as it has developed in the past two decades, as well as a reflection on its future direction if it is to remain relevant (and innovative) as a field of study. From its inception in the second half of the twentieth century, Comparative Literature in the United States has been conceived as a cross-disciplinary, cross-national, and cross-cultural enterprise that brings together theoretical developments in various fields of the Humanities and Social Sciences to reflect on the most important intellectual and cultural trends in various parts of the world from a comparative perspective through the lens of literary studies. Most of the founders of Comparative Literature were distinguished European scholars who sought a safe haven from the ravages of World War II and its aftermath and who, understandably focused on the Western literary, intellectual and cultural tradition, which at the time was in danger of being annihilated by the onslaught of Fascism and Communism. With the advent of the age of globalization the field of Comparative Literature has become increasingly diverse and must, therefore, be reoriented and recognized accordingly.This collection of essays starts from the premises formulated in Mihai Spariosu's work that in a global age, the most productive direction of development for Comparative Literature and for the Humanities in general is towards intercultural studies. This volume then asks an international group of scholars familiar with Spariosu's work to reflect upon this premise.