What is world literature? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe coined the term in the early 19th century, referring to the collection of written works that circulate widely beyond their country of origin (think Homer’s The Odyssey, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Cervantes’ Don Quixote). The concept has seen a resurgence in the fields of comparative literature and the comparative humanities since the turn of the millennium, concurrent with a turn to the global in literary studies. This explicit focus responds to broader, and increasingly pressing, processes of economic, social and cultural globalization. But this original vision of world literature — featuring a distinctly narrow, culturally and geographically, body of work — is unsuited for a full appreciation of the history and potential of global literary study.
The Global Comparative Humanities Working Group, funded by an Arts & Sciences SPEED Grant, seeks to expand the history of comparatism, excavating multiple genealogies around the world. Their goal is to provide a truly global history of comparatism, including but not limited to world literature, which in turn can anchor a vision for the comparative humanities after the global turn. In retracing a new history of comparatism, the group’s new, original research will move the discussion beyond the Euro-Atlantic world, foregrounding moments in the history of early comparatism in Egypt, India, the early Soviet Union, Latin America and Eastern Europe. In the coming years, the group will organize a series of talks, publications and graduate mentoring workshops that center and analyze this alternative history.
