Introducing Comparative Literature: New Trends and Applications - Softcover

"Bound to engage the professional academic as well as the common reader, Introducing Comparative Literature calls on the insights of a remarkable range of theorists, historians, anthropologists, artists and philosophers to present―and at the same time rethink―the field. In a series of clear, concise chapters dedicated to interliterary theory, decoloniality, world literature, themes and images, translation, literary history and interartistic comparisons, the authors deftly open up new ways of thinking about comparative literature as they effectively display its much-needed contributions to a pluralist, cosmopolitan education. This lively volume should soon become required reading in the literary classroom." Sandra Bermann, Cotsen Professor of the Humanities; Professor of Comparative Literature, Princeton University, USA

"This excellent book is an essential guide to the field of comparative literature, introducing students to its key concepts and techniques in a lively and engaging way. Combining a lucid introduction to theoretical debates with useful outlines of the key contexts of the discipline, it also opens up the fascinating field of interartistic comparison and engages with exciting developments in adjacent fields such as comparative philosophy. An indispensable book for comparative literature students and teachers alike." Javed Majeed, Head of Comparative Literature, King's College London, UK

"Introducing Comparative Literature is a useful and refreshing book that provides both a thorough overview of the discipline’s historically diverse definitions and some intriguing propositions concerning the directions in which Comparative Literature is evolving in the present, and may evolve in the future. It is a fine volume that should be on the bookshelves and the syllabi of professors engaged in the work of maintaining and rejuvenating the practices of Comparative Literature." David LaGuardia, Professor of French and Comparative Literature, Dartmouth College, USA

"This book offers a provocative and refreshing alternative to the old familiar Anglo-American theories of comparative literature." Susan Bassnett, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Warwick, UK

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.