Mapping World Literature: International Canonization and Transnational Literatures (Continuum Literary Studies)

mapping World Literature Explores The Study Of Literature And Literary History In Light Of Global Changes, Looking At What Defines World Literature In The 21st Century. surveying Ideas Of Literature From Goethe To The Present, Thomsen Devises A Compelling Concept Of Literary Constellations. He Discusses A Wide-range Of Critical Positions, Identifies The Limits Of Comparative And Post-colonial Approaches And Examines Two Specific Cases: Literature Written By Migrant Writers And The Literature Of Genocide, War And Disaster. mapping World Literature Captures New Ways Of Understanding The Patterns And Trends That Emerge In Literature, Opening Up And Inspiring Research To Map Patterns In The Field. "Mapping World Literature explores the study of literature and literary history in the light of globalization and argues that international canonization of books and authors can be used as an instrument for textual analysis of world literature. Thomsen uses a distinctive method in combining the concept of literary constellations and canonization, which allows for literary analysis that balances the formal and thematic elements of texts with their impact on the international literary scene. This is introduced through an overview of the concept of world literature including a discussion of present critical positions and then a specific analysis of two cases, literature written by migrant writers and the literature of genocide, war and disaster."--Jacket. Through the concept of constellations in literary studies, the book offers a nuanced understanding of the mechanism of canonization in the international sphere, especially in terms of how texts overcome contextual obstacles to understanding in other cultures, and provides a balanced critical perspective on the present and future of world literature. Of interest to advanced students and researchers in comparative and world literature, it suggests new approaches to the analysis of emerging patterns in world literature, in particular those of transnational literatures