World Literature: A Reader (Routledge Literature Readers) - Hardcover

‘There is no doubt that World Literature. A Reader will prove to be a must for years to come in the class room and the library. It’s both rich and provocative selection of texts from the last 200 years brings new perspectives into a world of globalized cultures.’ Svend Erik Larsen, Aarhus University, Denmark

‘This is an important and timely collection. The editors have provided a genuinely international map of key writings in this expanding subject that is changing the face of literary studies in our age. It will be invaluable to students around the world.’ Susan Bassnett, University of Warwick, UK

‘This finely edited volume brings together classical texts of world literature, but distinguishes itself by devoting half of its pages to work written in the past ten years...The present volume will do much to bring the era of world literature within our reach.’ Martin Puchner, Harvard University, USA

World Literature is an increasingly influential subject in literary studies, which has led to the re-framing of contemporary ideas of ‘national literatures’, language and translation.

World Literature: A Reader brings together thirty essential readings which display the theoretical foundations of the subject, as well as showing its conceptual development over a two hundred year period.

The book features:

• an illuminating introduction to the subject, with suggested reading paths to help readers navigate through the materials
• texts exploring key themes such as globalization, cosmopolitanism, post/trans-nationalism, and translation and nationalism
• writings by major figures including J. W. Goethe, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Longxi Zhao, David Damrosch, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Pascale Casanova and Milan Kundera.

The early explorations of the meaning of ‘Weltliteratur’ are introduced, while twenty-first century interpretations by leading scholars today show the latest critical developments in the field. The editors offer readers the ideal introduction to the theories and debates surrounding the impact of this crucial area on the modern literary landscape.