Annotated Bibliography - ENG 211
What is World Literature?
Ahmad, Aijaz. "The Communist Manifesto and 'World Literature." Social Scientist 29.7-8 (2000): 3-30. Print.
The way the author relates this is comparing the World Market to World Literature. He goes on to say that by growing the market so does the understanding of world Lit. grow. By expanding our knowledge of a socialist world we open our minds to the possibility of a united world. World lit., encompasses just that, the world. Every great piece or notable work can be considered world lit. Like industry popping up in empty lands so does the nature of world lit. When the population begins to boom thanks to corporations growing in small places, we envelop them and their written works, adding to what we consider world lit. -CLK
Albertson, Hazel Stewert. “The Significance of World Literature Today.” College English. 7.6 (1946):
323-326. Web. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/370549 >
This article describes world literature as a history of the people that produce the literature. It stresses the link between how the past evolves into the present through literature. Next, it describes how world literature dictates the cultures of the places it is written in through examples of countries around the world. For instance, India’s literature was first passed by word of mouth and later recorded but these epic stories’ values are still thriving in Indian culture today. Chinese literature from the past and present embraces imagination and insight while Japan’s literature evolved from topics such as loyalty, the concept of sacrifice, and desire for power to the lack of morality and the stress of beauty and love. Lastly, the literature in the Western part of the world is rooted in Greek, Roman, French, Spanish, and other cultures that contribute the the Western literature that is present today. Basically, the history of cultures around the world influences present day economic, social, religious, and political attitudes which is made known through world literature.
-LAS
Atkinson, William. "The Perils of World Literature." University of Oklahoma, n.d. 80-5(2006): Pg 43-47. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/40159193>
-JLS
In William Atkinson’s “The Perils of World Literature” article he does not answer our well sought after question either, he does however discuss teaching lit at a college standpoint. He claims that teaching world lit is getting constantly harder because the world is constantly changing. There is no time to each the new world literature. He says that old lit was europe based and everything revolved around a same theme but this new lit (western literature) has so many changes and varieties it cannot be kept up with in order to teach.
Atkinson, William. “The Perils of World Literature.” World Literature Today. 80.5 (2006): 43-47.
Print.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/40159193>
World literature is a subject of study and there are many different ways to define it. World literature has changed more in the past few years than ever, it started out as Western literature, then expanded to places in other parts of the world. Which became known as World literature. -ADS
Atkinson examines the malleability of the term World Literature, along with the biases behind it. He reveals the predetermined instincts of us in the English speaking world to rely on the writings of other English speakers above those from other cultures. This prejudice goes further as it can be easily found that readers favor the writings of their own cultural background. Simple searches usually yield Euro-Centric results, as that is what we are familiar with. Atkinson also displays understanding that not all literature comes in form of the written word as we know it, especially in cases of more orally centered ancestries. - DWM
Barnes, John R.. "World-Literature." The English Journal 26.9 (1937): 734-739. Print.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/804286>
Although this article is rather old, I think it still has significance in helping us define world literature. In this article, Barnes discusses the lack of world literature that is being taught in high schools. He refers to the literature being taught as “general literature.” In high schools the only literature taught are American and British in comparison to one another. Barnes argues that that is not sufficient world literature. He then describes what he believes needs to be involved in teaching world literature. Barnes believes that the main problem with teaching world literature is the lack of books that the students receive. He then goes on to say that students need to compare American and British literature to other national literatures.-RJN
Bass, Alan. “‘Literature’/Literature.” Comparative Literature. 87.7 (1972): 852-864. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2907789
This article covers the question surrounding “What is Literature?” Bass explores the debating theories of whether or not that question can actually be answered. He compares literature to science, and proposes that because science is written down, it can be considered literary. This leads him to ask if it is that way for science, is it that way for literature? I think that this article is useful because it, even though it isn’t completely modern, essentially explains the meaning of our overall question. VDA
Berman, Carolyn Vellenga. "The Known World In World Literature: Bakhtin, Glissant, And Edward P.
Jones." Novel: A Forum On Fiction 42.2 (2009): 231-238. Print. <http://wwws.moreheadstate.edu:2048/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2010380443&site=ehost-live>
This article seems to almost be a philosophical stream of consciousness piece, and it starts off by explaining what she believes “world literature” is considered today. They explain that it seems it’s used as a term for describing literature that “leftovers”, works that are not picked up by major publishers. She then goes on to use the example of Edward P. Jones's novel The Known World, which she obviously thinks highly of. After discussing aspects of Jones’s novel she finally comes to the conclusion that since we could not possibly individually read “world literature” and its entirety then it therefore is impossible to define what “world literature” is. This article is a unique perspective on what the term “world literature” means and a lot can be taken from it. ANB
Brooks, Kevin. “Dave Eggers What is the What as World Literature.” World Literature Today 84.2 (2010): 36-40. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Jan. 2014. http://wwws.moreheadstate.edu:2048/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=48965790&site=ehost-live
This article is a review by Brooks’s concerning the novel, What is the What, by Dave Eggers. Brooks discusses the revolving question of whether or not the piece should be considered a work of world literature. Brooks argues in favor of the piece being considered world literature, and he bases his argument on the premise of David Damrosch’s definition of world literature: 1) Writing that gains in translation 2) Writing that functions as an “elliptical refraction of national literature 3) A mode of reading. According to Brooks, Egger’s book contains all three of these aspects meaning that is should therefore be deemed appropriately.
This article is adequate in helping us with our question “what is world literature?” because Brooks not only gives guidelines to what makes something world literature, but he also uses his review of Egger’s novel as an example.
-JDC
Buck, Philo M., Jr. "The Place Of World Literature In The College Program." College English 8.7
(1947): 376-380.Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/370361>
This article is a very important one to our course especially. Philo Buck Jr. explains that our civilization has a tradition of finding “great” book and finding books that help us understand how man emerged from “barbarianism”. He explains that what he means by using many examples of ancient Greece and how those simple writing influenced a whole culture back then. He eventually comes to the conclusion that world literature has a lot of different meanings. He says that it can help us understand and tolerate other countries and it can give us an inside look at the ideas and imagination of other places. He then goes on to explain how college humanities classes are nothing but a small glimpse into these and that the curriculum is to short, but he feels it’s the most fulfilling and joyous type of class to teach. This article has many examples and it very helpful on the topic. If you need examples of what world literature is, this is definitely the article. ANB
Carlsen, George R. “Creating a World Outlook through Literature”. The English Journal. 33.10
(Dec., 1944). 526-532 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/807410>
In this article, George Carlsen, struggles with choosing pieces of literature for his high school class. He states that his selections must display a people or culture that struggles with the same types of problems that America struggles with. George states that, “I wanted them to see that we contemporary Americans are not isolated from the stream of history in our present struggle but are an intimate part of it.” He is avid to show his students, through literature, that America fights for values that repeatedly show up in every area where a culture has lived. He wanted to show that today’s modern problems have their roots in many other ages and cultures. And that by reading and studying about how they dealt with said problems, that we too could learn how to deal with our issues, or how not to deal with them.
- MAS
Carter, Mary. "The Case for World Literature." School Review. 56.7 (1948): 415-420. Print. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1082782
In this article Mary Carter criticizes western society’s (particularly America’s) emphasis on only one type (or one culture’s literature). In this case she is referring to American’s heavy use of English literature (English meaning coming from Great Britain, ie the country not the language) --as that is what most American education focused on at the time this article was published. However this can also be applied to modern times in that we put a heavier emphasis on Western literature, and rarely explore works from other cultures. Carter argues that because we focus so much on only one form of literature we narrow our world-view. By exploring other cultures’ literatures, we can create greater understanding between cultures—reducing world conflict and promoting cooperation among nations and civilizations. In order to understand what world literature is we must also understand its importance, which is exactly what this article focuses on.--OMG
Casement, William. “Today’s Students Need World Literature.” College Teaching. 36.2
(1988): 57-60. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/27558268.>
Students today typically study British or American Literature, when they don’t study one of those two, they choose to take poetry, or drama. While studying British literature the students are learning a foreign language so it isn’t a big priority, they prefer American Literature where its their original language. However with British Literature, you also get into philosophy with the works of Plato, Aristotle, and so on. -ADS
Casement, William. “Today’s Students Need World Literature.” College Teaching. 36. 2
(1988): 57-60. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/27558268>
Casement argues that world literature is the most important literature to be taught as general education. Like Carter, he argues that American education focuses primarily on English language literature, and there is very little encouragement to study world literature. By expanding our focus to include greater diversity in literature we can expand our imagination and moral and political understanding and ideology. New and very different ideas can be allowed to enter the minds of American readers. In addition, conflicting ideas can give readers a greater appreciation for beliefs different than their own and can allow them to think more critically of various issues. Not only can readers appreciate the differences in different cultures they can also see the commonalities that persist through all nations. There are quite a few moral and political issues that everyone must face or at least consider. And one can easily compare the pervading values and perspectives in two different places at the same time or in the same place at different times to see how they have changed and evolved in different cultures. World literature allows us to find our own place in the world—highlighting our uniqueness but also making us feel connected to the rest of the world.--OMG
Cheah, Pheng. "What Is a World? On World Literature as World-Making Activity." The MIT
Press. 137-5(2008) Pg 26-38 Web. 23 Jan. 2014.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/40543795>
-JLS
Pheng Cheah’s “What is a world? On World Literature as world-making activity” talks a lot about how World Lit gives an idea or history of the past and it helps us imagine the world back then. He goes on to explain that it takes an entire world to make this image for everyone to see. Hince, World Lit being a ‘world-making activity’. He also gives a cool thought that literature gives its readers a pleasure and a desire to share the pleasure of the literature. In a way Cheah does answer our “What is world lit” question but it isn’t a solid answer that we’re looking for.
Clements, Robert J. “World Literature Tomorrow.” World Literature Today. 51.2 (1977):
181-186. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40133280.>
World Literature is like three stages of Comparative Literature. The first stage was Western Heritage which was like a confining concept. The second stage was East-West Literature, courses are being tried, but they are not confident in the results. The third stage is World Literature, its comprised of the past two stages. -ADS
Clements finds many key solutions to discovering and teaching literature both. He feels that by having teachers who have only read the translated text, much is lost in the lesson. This idea may be nice, but expecting World Literature teachers to be polylingual is a bit much, though perhaps he meant something along the lines of multiple classes each focusing on one languages literary works. Clements also cautions the political teachings to be found in each literary work, not to say they should be ignored, but simply not to teach only the literary works that support only one idea - mentioning Marx as an author of unheard of politicality.
Cochran, Terry. “The Knowing of Literature.” New Literary History, Vol. 38, No. 1,
What Is Literature Now? (Winter, 2007), pp. 127-143. Print.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/20057992>
In this piece, Cochran explains the large landscape of ways to understand literature. There is no specific formula to comprehending literary works, for it is what the reader makes it. Literature is a process that involves our mind and helps transmit knowledge. It also allows people to get exposed to the substance and power that writing can carry. There are many literary works in which the meaning will forever be debated, but will never be officially verified, which is the beautiful thing about literature. There isn’t always a set meaning to a piece of literature, which allows our minds to roam free and think. Literature is a central gateway that allows people to obtain knowledge. Cochran also expresses that he believes literature is being stripped of its power. Literature no longer carries that power of the “unknown” anymore because so many people believe there are concrete meanings within every piece. - JJ.
Coltrane, Brad. “Literature beyond Labels: Blending American and World Literature.” The English
Journal. 9.5 (2002): 28-32. Web.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/821394>
This article suggest that world literature and the literature of America are the same thing in a sense of their content. The article lists three pairings of works, one by an American author and another by a Nigerian or Vietnamese author. The article compares both works and tells a background of each piece of literature then goes on to connect how similar the literature is in aspects such as the storyline and setting. The article then stresses that these similarities between American literature and world literature display the fact that all literature, despite its’ place of origin, is the same. More reading of world literature, or literature from places other than America, could help readers to recognize the fact that literature is simply a story in the view of the narrator and that foreign literature content is not much different than the content of American literature. Therefore, world literature is a piece of writing that is not from the home country of the reader.
-LAS
Cooppan, Vilashini. "Ghost in the Disciplinary Machine: The Uncanny Life of World Literature."
Penn State University Press. 41-1(2004). Pg 10-36 Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/40468100>
“Ghost in the Disciplinary Machine: The Uncanny Life of World Literature” is written by Vilashini Cooppan. In this article doesn’t really answer the “What is World Lit” question as much as I would like it to. But it does offer some cool views on how world lit effects the world. Cooppan says that world lit makes us feel very small and expands our universe. He says that it is a system of movement and exchange and this all leads to globalization and captures the whole world. I think he is calling world lit as a ghost sense it is an exchange of information stories will repeat themselves.
-JLS
Cinema Borders 9 (2001): 15-43. Print.
He basically talks about how globalization leads to a world economy and how a world economy leads to a bigger world lit. The more we expand with the internet, corporations, and generally as people, the more we expand our works of literature. Everywhere we go a new author is just waiting around the corner. With the internet local or never heard of authors can just put their stuff on amazon. We find people through social networks, media, etc and we make them famous for their works. Think about how youtube videos go viral, it is the same thing with world lit. -CLK
Damrosch, David. "What Is World Literature?" World Literature Today: A Literary Quarterly Of
The University Of Oklahoma 77.1 (2003): 9-14. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40157771>
World literature has always been important for giving other people perspective on other things. In this article David Damrosch seems to focus a lot on how things are misconstrued or not understood when translated into another language. He gives many examples one being Bei Dao’s poetry in The August Sleepwalker, he explains many things that may be misunderstood and controversy over this man’s works. He explains that what people seem to forget is that works take on a new life when they are translated and passed on. He explains that by understanding this better we have so much to gain from all the works already translated and works that are yet to be translated and distributed.
Damrosch, David. “World Literature, National Contexts” Modern Philology, Vol. 100, No. 4 (May 2003), pp. 512-531 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/379981
In this article Damrosch answers the question “why world Literature?”. When most people think of world literature, they tend to see it in a boring light. Damrosch explains that reading world literature can give us insight into worlds that we had no idea about. He states that world literature can explain the differences between cultures, and that when we keep these differences in mind, then we can try and better understand one another. Damrosch also says that by reading world literature we can preserve worlds that have long been past, and that if we do not keep preserving these worlds through literature then they will be lost to us forever.
-MAS
Damrosch, David. “World Literature Today: From the Old World to the Whole World.” Symploke. 8.½ (2000): 7-19. JSTOR. : http://www.jstor.org/stable/40550471
This article talks a lot about the different types of literature that has slowly changed throughout time. It mentions about how different styles of writing is influenced by the writers own culture and his own era. This article mentions about how anthologies now show a much greater variety of geographical and literary ranges. Damrosch talks about how the different anthologies are showing a greater variety of works from other countries along with a wider range of literature talking about their main beliefs and religions. It mentions how the newer anthologies are becoming bigger and are including things from the “Old World to the whole world.” BAM
Downing, Karen. “Travelers, Not Tourists: A World Literature Curriculum” The English Journal, 91.5, (2002): 46-51. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/821397 >
This article, written by High School English Teacher Karen Downing, takes a very interesting perspective on how to view world literature. A view I never would have thought of on my own but really like and will apply to my own world literature adventures. She challenges her students to be “travelers” rather than “tourists” when reading literature outside of their American comfort zone. “Tourists” just kind of sit back and enjoy the view but never really take the time to dive in and appreciate all aspects of what is in front of them. They expect to be educated by a tour guide (aka the teacher) letting the guide’s views become their own. However, this teacher wants her students to be “travelers,” people who take the time to learn all they can about their subject and not only learn more about the people of that origin, but also learn more about themselves. The teacher is to serve as an active learner too, not one who tells the students how to interpret the text.--SBS
Greenblatt, Stephen. "What Is The History Of Literature?." Critical Inquiry 23.3 (1997): 460. Print.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1344030
In this article, Greenblatt explores the meaning of the word literature and questions the ability to understand the history of literature. He begins with discussing the meaning of literature in medieval times and how being literate could mean life or death. Greenblatt also discusses the evolution of determining whether or not someone was literate. He then moves on to talk about Early Modern travellers and what their idea of literature was. To them, it was being able to write a story well. Greenblatt says that there is no single history of literature, and to think so is absurd. He goes on to discuss different literatures and their history.- RJN
Gross, David S. "The Many Worlds of World Literature." World Literature Today 77.3/4 (2003): 74. Print. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/40158183?origin=crossref
Gross’s article in World Literature Today discussed some of the downfalls of what we consider world literature. For example, most of the “masterpieces” and “classics” included in world literature anthologies today are from Western Europe and North America. He questions the fact that we call these “anthologies of world literature” when only a portion of the world is portrayed. He cites this statement by Stephen Owen to describe his reasoning, "the quintessence of cultural hegemony, when an essentially local tradition (Anglo-European) is widely taken for granted as universal.” Gross goes on to discuss the components of third world countries and how they must find their audiences in places other than their own country, such as the United States or other Anglo-European cultures.
-JDC
Guerra, Claudia. "Editor's Note: What in the World Is World Literature?" World Literature Today. JSTOR. University of Oklahoma, (2009): 3.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/info/20621454>. DJM
When World Literature Today (WLT) began publishing in 1927 world literature was defined as…. ““World Literature” was a canon of texts and a body of knowledge derived from a focus on European literature, with occasional sidebar salutes to Europe’s colonial influences on “emerging” literatures””. This article tells us that to understand one work of literature, we must read others. The more we read the more we expand our horizons of the literary world. “How do we read world literature then? We read it the only way available to us; one world at a time…”. DJM
Guest, Boyd. “A Course in World Literature”. College English. 10. 7 (1949): 399-405. Web.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/372291?seq=2>
This piece takes a look at the hows and why of teaching World Literature. In regards to the why, the article puts forward the claim that World Literature is the best (and potentially only) way to understand the various cultures of the world, as a society’s writings are formed from their culture. Boyd claims this is supremely important, as modernity is built on the past, and we would be fools to ignore our foundations. In regards to the how, Boyd suggests studying literature through various lenses. The first lens he suggests is the aesthetic, wherein one searches for the artistic value of the piece. The second lens is the historic, which asks the reader to ponder what the piece would mean to those who read it when it was still fresh from the press. The third lens is the philosophical, and it asks the reader to consider what the author was trying to say about humanity within the context of philosophy, religion, and science. The fourth and final lens is the sociological, and it pushes the reader to consider the relationship the author was portraying between the individual and society. I think this piece is relevant to our course as, in prescribing a teaching method, it reveals what a student of World Literature should take away from a course, and how we should go about our readings.
-SLH
Krajewski, Bruce, and David Damrosch. "What Is World Literature?" 31.4, (2005): 234-236.
JSTOR.< http://www.jstor.org/stable/25115319>. DJM
This is a review of David Damrosch’s “What is world literature?” written by Bruce Krajewski. He makes many good points about David and how he has many random topics and texts which in turn is what makes world literature, right? There is so much literature in this world that it is impossible to read it all. “I take world literature to encompass all literary works that circulate beyond their culture of origin, either in translation or in their original language” says Damrosch. World literature isn’t just about reading books… it’s about detaching from this world using words to take you to another time and place. He’s simply saying you cannot read a few books from one time period about the same subject and expect to have a deeper understanding of what is world literature. You must broaden your horizons and read as much as you can on various topics/time periods. DJM
Leitch, Vincent B. "World Literature." World Literature Today 74.4 (2000): 790. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40156090>.
I believe that the article World Literature by Vincent B. Leitch will help us answer our question of “What is World Literature” because he talks about how each literature is expanding. He uses U.S. Literature as an example and states “a case that repeats itself in other national contexts.” Leitch also explains that in the past, there has been a transnationalization of national literatures but hasn’t affected our current thoughts on World Literature. He also states, “The many changes affected the nation-state around the globe (not just the U.S.) are transforming national literatures and, in the process, world literature.” He also asks the questions, “Under such conditions, mustn’t we reconceive “world literature?”, “Is the concept now obsolescent?”, “What are the stakes- and not just the difficulties- in maintaining the very idea of world literature?” These questions really make us think and hopefully understand world literature the same way he perceives it. All of this information should at least give us a start on understanding what world literature is. -KBM
Levine, Carl. “Literature and Social Relavance”, Vol. 24, No.1 (Mar.,1970), 25-32. Rocky
Mountain Modern Language Association. JSTOR http://www.jstor.org/stable/1346463
This article discusses the fact that the way that English is taught within the schools nowadays doesn’t appeal to the younger adults. The younger adults dislike English more than most subjects. Most of the young undergraduates that don’t seem to like English as much as the other subjects that they are taught find no real life connection to the literature that they are reading, but there is in fact a connection. Writers in the past as well as the present have written about trials that have happened in real life such as poverty, break-ups, illnesses (both mental and physical), etc. these are definitely things that relate to real life. This article talks about how English teachers teach about works that explain all of these things, but maybe the teachers should approach teaching a work such as Edgar Alan Poe with more of an open mind, then maybe students will think of the subject English as a whole as less stressful or boring. -LKH
Martin, Leisa A., et al. "Preparing Students For Global Citizenship In The Twenty-First Century:
Integrating Social Justice Through Global Literature." Social Studies 103.4 (2012): 158-164.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 26
In this article the author talks about preparing students of the 21st century for global citizenship. Educators need to prepare students for global citizenship by exposing them to global literature. By exposing students to world literature it allows the students to become more aware of social, political and moral perspectives of cultures around the world and they don’t even have to travel. Lastly the article speaks of outcomes in which an elementary educator used world literature books in their classroom and the responses of the children and written reflections that the children write after having lessons of world literature. -LKH
Netland, John. ""Who Is My Neighbor?": Reading World Literature Through the Hermeneutics of Love
." Journal of Education & Christian Belief. 11.2 (2007): 67-82. Print.
This article takes a theologian approach to understanding World Literature. It examines the general preconception and tendency of those who read critically to expect understanding in an ethnocentric way. Netland encourages a deeper attempt at understanding not just your interpretation of a text, but also authorial intent and the deeper meaning to be found for the origin culture of the text instead of simply reading it through your own lense. -DWM
Newell, George E., Sweet, Marcia. “‘Headed Into More and More Important Things:Transforming a World Literature Curriculum.” The English Journal, 88.5 )1999): 38-44. Print. http://www.jstor.org/stable/821775
This article kind of takes a different perspective than many of the other articles I’ve read. Rather than focusing on how students benefit from world literature and strategies on how they should be taught, this article focused on students’ heritage. As America continues to become more and more diverse, our curriculum needs to become more diverse as well. Students of heritages other than American have no role models, heroes, or personal philosophy in the literature they are exposed to in the average classroom. Shouldn’t these students have full capabilities to embrace their culture just as the traditional students do?--SBS
Ning, Wang. “World Literature and the Dynamic Function of Translation”. Modern Language
Quarterly. 71.1 (2010): 1-14. Web.
This article is important for us to consider because it, too is attempting to puzzle out the meaning of the term “world literature.” Ning looks at the development of the terms we use today to explain this amorphous creature, referencing Marx and Engel in their belief that global trade and expansion in the mid-1800’s would birth this classification of literature. Ning also considers that there may indeed be more than one world literature, as it is a “traveling concept.” He mentions that the two major schools of thought on world literature are those of cultural relativism, which views distinctive national literatures, and cultural universalism, which views literature from around the world through the lens of its similarities. This article is important as well for its mention of the importance of translation to world literature, as well as the remembrance of Euro-centrism in most considerations of world literature.
-SLH
Phillips,N. Christopher. “Lighting out for the Rough Ground: America's Epic Origins and the Richness of
World Literature” PMLA , Vol. 122, No. 5, Special Topic: Remapping Genre (Oct., 2007),
1499-1515.JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2550179
In this article the author traces World Literature back to its origins. The author of this article believes that before literature was a national endeavor it was an international one, which makes quite a bit sense. The author traces World Literature back to Kentucky specifically to the Jamestown Village, which if you haven’t taken any history classes was the first recorded colony in what is known today the United States. He studies the trials, and tribulations that the colonist went through throughout their journey of creating the first colony and how this relates to World Literature as a whole. Throughout the article the author does focus on the United States and mainly the colonies that made up the United States and how the colonies contributed to what is now known as World Literature. -LKH
Reese, James D. “Learning for Understanding: The Role of World Literature.” The English Journal. 9.5 (2002): 63-69. Print. http://www.jstor.org/stable/821400
Reese also argues that variety should be taught in political courses, saying that by giving his students both traditional and more nontraditional pieces to explore he was able to broaden their understanding of the world. He describes the Teaching for Understanding framework as a guided journey to develop critical thinking, opening students’ minds to new ways of seeing the world, and learning about different cultures and periods of time through literature. By expanding the realm of literature consumed students can explore and learn about complex topics such as truth and reality, philosophical quandaries such as what it means to be human, and issues of morality—and the differences in that among cultures. In other words, by studying a variety of works in world literature students are able to vastly open their minds—improving their thinking skills and overall worldly knowledge. By introducing students to world literature when they are young, we can plant the seed of their thirst for greater knowledge and understanding for the rest of their life.--OMG
Reese, James . "Learning for Understanding: The Role of World Literature." The English
Journal 1 (2002): 63-69. Print.
This one talks about how we need it to gain an understanding of the world around us to truly appreciate literature. As a teacher he uses translated works, and older text to make his students gain an understanding of the time periods, or regions they are in. By doing this we open up our minds to the possibilities around us. We basically realize that we could not endure half of what is written. Take the diary of Anne Frank for instance. No real person can say yea I can do that. We can’t imagine being persecuted where we live, only by reading things from that time can we actually learn, and appreciate what we have here. -CLK
Remenyi, Joseph. “The Meaning of World Literature.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism.
9.3 (1951): 244-251.http://www.jstor.org/stable/425885
This article described world literature as a product of its’ author, an author who has an optimistic view on life and can writes without acceptance towards towards the standards of the world they live/lived in. World literature is also written by someone who is a creative humanitarian that questions their conscience and the known and unknown facts about human life. Next, this article describes literature as an interpretation of life as perceived by the author followed by examples of renowned writers and their interpretations on what literature is. This article then lists the essentials of a piece of literature, all which include factors such as the author’s creativeness, ability, unbiased views, artisticness, and uniqueness. Because literature is life as interpreted by the author, this article explains how world literature is a representation of life as lived by various peoples of different origins who, through literature, can realize that life is not all that different despite their backgrounds. World literature displays the universality of life worldwide.Therefore, the study of man is the study of literature, and the study of literature is the study of world literature because it is all connected through the idea that literature is life as interpreted by the author. Lastly, literature provides an escape for man being that a man of one culture and social status can read a piece of literature written by someone of a different lifestyle.
-LAS
Raymond, Ruth. “Free Reading in World Literature.” The English Journal, 44.3 (1955):160-162.
< http://www.jstor.org/stable/809089> DJM.
I found this article to be quite an interesting read, doesn’t quite follow the other posts but sometimes that is necessary, think outside of the box to get the bigger picture. This article is actually about a classroom full of students… They assign every student a different book by a foreign writer or an author who had first hand knowledge about the country they wrote about. They allowed the students to read at their own pace and allowed them to fully grasp the meaning of the book in which they were reading. They learned about human relations and were even able to solve personal problems. After each student finished a book they would present to the class a summary of the book and with that being done it left a lot of intrigued minds thirsty for more knowledge. All in all, this seems like a good way to get students to read more books and broaden their horizons on the world and not just the country in which they inhabit. Globalization is the key to understanding the world as a whole. DJM
Remenyi, Joseph. “The Meaning of World Literature.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 9.3 (1951): 244-251. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/425885 BAM
In this article, Joseph Remenyi talks about how there are many different meanings of the word literature. He also talks about how different people have different viewpoints toward literature.He talks about how the author of the pieces of literature have to find it within themselves to be able to put such passion into their works. He also says that the meaning of literature is very creative and it is basically just the interpretation of how the viewer sees the work. He talks about how the word literature can mean different things depending on how the author had intended it to mean. The article says that world literature is a very important and functional, just as it is normally very universal. BAM
Shuman, R. Baird. “World Literature: Toward Global Understanding” The Clearing House, 48.8 (1974):461-467. Print. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30186072
This article written by R. Baird Shuman really focuses on how world literature is taught, particularly in high schools around the country, but the same effects are seen in the college classroom. It also gives valuable tips as to how world literature should be taught for all ages. Shuman makes a very interesting point when he contrasts the relationship between the teacher and the student. He comments that it’s the teacher’s job to be an expertise in the area of literature. They have extensively studied universal literary forms, but this should not be how they teach their students. Students need to be taught with the perspective of gaining a well rounded world view, not solely on the piece of literature itself. This is just one of the many eye-opening comments Shuman makes about how students in a world literature class should be taught and the misconceptions made in classrooms today. Read this article if interested in learning more.--SBS
Smith, Karen R. “What Good is World Literature?: World Literature Pedagogy and the Rhetoric of Moral Crisis”. College English. 73 (2011): 585-603.
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CE/0736-jul2011/CE0736What.pdf
This piece looks at how modern English courses define World Literature through a look at how it has been defined since the 1930’s. Citing multiple sources, the article reflects upon three major periods of definition, and the cultural differences which defined them. It explains that the Post War Era saw World Literature as a gateway to global citizenship, the Culture Wars Era looked at it through the lens of multiculturalism, and the Post-Cold War Era saw World Literature as a transnational process. The cultural contextualization of the evolving definition of World Literature goes far in demonstrating how and why we define World Literature today, as well as showing the importance of realizing that the term has not and will not always mean the same thing.
-SLH,
Standford, Barbara. “Literature of the Human Race” The Englisth Journal. 61.2 (1972:):
205-209 http://www.jstor.org/stable/813471 BAM
In this article, Standford believes that the literature that we read, represents the nationalities and culture that it come from. In the article Standford talks alot about how the Vietnamese literature has slowly increased over the years; and how it is important we learn about other cultures and their beliefs. In this work it talks about how the literature that most teachers teach shows that there is really no work that is of a smaller minority and that it should not be this way.According to this article, Latin America is also another area where we do not really have a lot of literary works from. This is also the same for many of the smaller countries.
Tanoukhi, Nirvana. "The Scale Of World Literature." New Literary History 39.3 (2008): 599-617. Print. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20533104
In this article, Tanoukhi believes that the problems with defining “world literature” are literary space and critique. “World Literature” is better known as “literary history,” according to Tanoukhi. In this work “world literature” is compared to geography. Tanoukhi says that “world literature” is close to becoming like geography: material and hardened. The purpose of this article is to reveal that “world literature” is much more complex than geography. Tanoukhi explores the postcolonial novel and its importance in defining “world literature” and how it helps show that it is far from being compared to geography. Tanoukhi uses geographic words for comparison and focuses mainly on the relationship between the postcolonial novel and “world literature.”- RJN
Todorov, Tzvetan, John Lyons. “What is Literature For?”. New Literary History. 38.1 (2007): 13-32
What is Literature Now? JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20057987
Essentially, this article examines the approach to literature in general. I think this could help us answer the main question, “What is World Literature?” by giving us insight as to why literature is important to our culture as well as to cultures that we aren’t necessarily heavily educated about as of yet. Basically, it tells us why literature exists. VDA
Warnock, Robert. “A Survey of World Literature Texts.” College English. 2.3 (1940): 248-256 JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/370374
This article revolves around a critique of textbooks and anthologies used in past world literature courses. He examines the flaws and traits of them in relation to “new” courses and past courses. The purpose of this article was to argue the usefulness of the anthologies that were supposedly “world literature” that only focused on English and early American literature, with little emphasis on anything else. Seeing as this article is incredibly dated, I don’t think it will be useful in reflection on our own education system, but it gives us valuable insight as to how previous literature courses were viewed and insight as to what we should consider “world literature” for future generations’ use. VDA
Wood, Michael. Daedalus,Vol. 138, No. 1, Reflecting on the Humanities (Winter, 2009) , pp. 58-67 http://www.jstor.org/stable/40543873
According to Michael Wood world literature is the preservation of humanity and its values. Wood asks us to imagine a world where no one has ever heard of the world we live in today. The people in said world would have no idea of sympathy, criticism, or even hope. He tells that literature began out as story telling, and that these stories were continually retold in order to pass on not only the history of the people, but the values of them as well. Without stories of love and heartbreak or laughter and pain, those emotions would cease to exist. Wood explains that world literature allows people to read stories of hope and wonder, and it allows people to dream. Because after all, where would we be without dreams?
-MAS
Wood, Michael. Rev. of What is World Literature? David Damrosch. Comparative Literature Studies 2004: 168. Print. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40468108>.
I believe that this review by Michael Wood of David Damrosch’s article, What is World Literature? will help us answer our question of “What is World Literature?” because the author breaks down and emphasizes the important information that Damrosch states in his own article. Woods quotes Damrosch’s statement of, “The work of world literature exists on two planes at once: present our world, it also brings us into a world very different from ours.” Wood also states, “It reflects a human activity and names a result, and it doesn’t have to be totalized. It can be fragmentary and various and is interesting precisely because of its shifting borders-and because it can be seen historically.” I also think Damrosch’s phrase that Wood quotes, “with a body of work from another time and place.” The statement that Woods made in this article that stood out the most to me was, “A work of world literature is one that gets out of its world and into ours.” This article has a lot of specific quotes from Damrosch and explains things in good detail, so hopefully it will help us better understand what world literature really is. -KBM
Wray, Grady C. “Windows on the World.” World Literature Today 78.1 (2004): 71. JSTOR. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40158369
Wray reflected upon David Damrosch’s in World Literature Today as extremely helpful in creating guidelines for courses in world literature. He spoke of three conceptions that he felt were obligatory when considering the wide variety of voices available when studying world Cochran, Terry. “The Knowing of Literature.” New Literary History, Vol. 38, No. 1,
What Is Literature Now? (Winter, 2007), pp. 127-143. Print.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20057992
literature. Wray stated that there must be a “Classic”, a “Masterpiece”, and works that provide a “Window on the World” included in all literature courses and even then the means of studying world literature would still be insufficient. Wray also discussed the importance of translation within the literary world. To him the aspects of translation were of the utmost importance when concerning the spreading of literature to the speakers of different languages. When considering our question, “What is World Literature?” this review will be very helpful due to the fact that it gives specific ideals that Wray feels distinguishes any work from a work of world literature.
-JDC
Damrosch, David. “Toward a History of World Literature”. New Literary History. Vol. 39, No. 3,
Literary History in the Global Age, pp. 481-495. JSTOR.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/20533098> LMA
In this article, Damrosch says, “Our globalizing age makes this either the easiest or the hardest time to write a history of world literature.” Damrosch spends most of this article discussing how difficult composing a history of world literature would be. In my opinion, one of the biggest points he is trying to make is that literature varies so much from country to country, that what is appealing and exciting may not have the same effect on someone coming from a different country. He feared that people wouldn’t be able to step outside of their comfort zone and experiencing literature through the eyes of other foreign writers. -LMA
Wendland, Ann. “The Afterlife of Stories”. World Literature Today. Vol. 78, No. 1, University of Oklahoma. JSTOR. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40158371> LMA
In this article, Wendland discussed the importance of keeping tradition in literature. She said that in today’s time, literature may come from all corners of the world, and that we are responsible is handing down those stories that are in danger of being forgotten. Wendland also found excitement in the possibility of a “decentralized” world literature. Wendland wants a compilation of world literature that contains literary works from all of the world. The title of this article is “The Afterlife of Stories” and in the article she says that someone once told her, “the storyteller dies but the story lives on.” This meaning that we have the responsibility of passing on these stories. -LMA
Berman, Carolyn Vellenga. "The Known World in World Literature: Bakhtin, Glissant, and Edward P. Jones." Comparative Literature. 42.2 (2009): n. page. Print. <http://wwws.moreheadstate.edu:2048/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2010380443&site=ehost-live>. -LMA
This article focuses on the question “what is the ‘world’ in world literature?” Many view it as the literature of the unknown world. Today, world literature is viewed at “leftovers.” Berman uses examples from the literary authors Bakhtin, Glissant, and Edward P. Jones to prove the point that world literature is more than just leftovers. She tells us that knowing everything about world literature is impossible, but we must not give up wanting to know more about it. Berman says that Bakhtin’s view of world literature is strictly European. We should be looking farther than Europe to discover exactly world literature. We can’t allow ourselves to set limitations. When asking the question “what is world literature” we need to discover how literature connects a known world to the underlying totality lying beneath it. -LMA