Reconsidering The World Republic of Letters: A Qualunque Community of Literatures

In the preface to the English edition of The World Republic of Letters, Pascale Casanova focuses on the existence of a literary world/universe, which maintains a relative autonomy from the world and its political disparities and restrictions. This suggested ideal of a literary space is an attempt to posit world literature as an alternative chronotope in which literary production can survive and multiply transnationally. My paper will offer a reconsideration of this global literary space, read via a philosophical perspective, shaped by the famous discussion of the common and community as conducted by Giorgio Agamben, Maurice Blanchot, Georges Bataille, among others. Within the above theoretical frame, my attempt will be to reread Casanova’s contribution to World Literature as a desired community of literature(s), formed by the coming together of qualunque singularities which co-exist and co-belong without “any representable condition of belonging” (Agamben). Furthermore, the idea of qualunque (whatever) will constitute the starting point for the ethico-political reconsideration and reconceptualisation of the global literary space offered by Casanova, not only without borders but also without hierarchies.

Trails of Cultural Memory: Rediscovering Shylock as a Father Figure in the 21st Century

Given that in the last few decades theories of adaptation have advanced enormously, with such names as Linda Hutcheon setting the theoretical premise of these ideas, it is essential to see how certain aspects present in canonical texts have been translated into present-day literature. In this paper, I discuss how the father-daughter relationship in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, has been (re)interpreted through the carrying of similar characters and situations in the novel Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson. The novel does not only serve as a means of projecting old ideas as new, but it also provides the stage of resolution for such prominent characters as Shylock. In order to have a broader understanding of the (re)interpreted father-daughter relationship, this chapter will take into account the sociological symbolism of the contemporary text, with Erik Erikson’s descriptions of adolescence in the foreground.

Switching between Codes, Social Personas and Seminar Activities. A Case Study of Localized Hypersubjectivities Constructing a Laboratory-Based Superdiverse Micro-Community

One perspective bound to rouse interesting ideas in relation to efforts of mapping out World Theory, especially in the interplay between ‘local cultures’ pinned against the backdrop of globalization, might just come in the form of sociolinguistics. The author argues that the code-switching practices (polylingual practices, cf. Jørgensen) observed taking place between two groups of highly creative tri-/tetra-and pentalingual Erasmus students solving Physiology-related tasks during laboratory hours, are the perfect site for studying a superdiverse micro-community. The clash and intertwinement of not only every student’s linguistic baggage, but of their various background cultures and performed social personas, in the midst of switching back-and-forth between their locally co-constructed English(es) as Lingua Franca(s), are reflective of the challenges posed by accelerated patterns of migration. This linguistic behavior is also emotionally-driven and socially fluid. Therefore, micro- and even niche-subcultures exhibit a tendency to be reduced to hypersubjectivities co-existing in ad-hoc micro-communities (Hall).

Fiction May Confront Theories. Locating Determinism of the Newspeak in G. Orwell’s 1984

The paper focuses on the relationships between theory and practice and the consequences of dislocating theory from practice as they are illustrated through fiction. The case study carried out here concerns an exemplary novel, Ninety Eighty-Four by George Orwell, observing how the literary discourse can display a confrontation between two linguistic models, each resulted from a different theory: “instrumentalism” (Winston Smith) and “determinism” (O’ Brien). Also, the possibility of identifying an Orwellian model as opposed to the Sapir-Whorf and the linguistic models deserves examination. Newspeak is full of problematic aspects: ideology shapes the language by means of “wooden language” (la langue de bois, in Françoise Thom’s terms). Therefore, the historical “regime of relevance” (Galin Tihanov) makes possible a peculiar (use of) theory: an instrument that translates the ideology becomes the very essence of the determinist theory on the language in a totalitarian state. In discussing the practical consequences of literary theory, Stanley Fish points out that they are inexistent, because theory can never be united with practice, as it is actually impossible to separate theory from practice – a similar observation made by Steven Knapp and Walter B. Michaels. Whether consequences are real poses a challenge: following Edward Said’s argument, Steven Mailloux observes that theory can be consequential by rhetorical means: theory does what all discursive practices do and that is that it attempts to persuade its readers (or population in a totalitarian state) to adopt its point of view, its way of seeing texts and the world.

Cosmopolitan Theory: Examining the (Dis-)location of Imagology

Being interdisciplinary, reflexive and analytical, theory has practical effects, questioning assumptions such as those related to discourse, meaning or identity, and exploring the circumstances in which texts are produced. It offers new conceptual tools and provides an argumentative method. Fields such as imagology have benefitted from the outset from the variety of theories reflecting the intellectual progress of their times, in particular in connection with the study of the relationship between Self and Other, thus providing new perspectives on the uses of preconceived ideas in artistic, written and visual, representations. In view of the current context of migratory flows and societal upheavals, it seems topical to examine the theories feeding the field of imagology today. Traditionally, history, psychology and sociology have proved instrumental in the building of essential notions pertaining to the sphere. More recently, studies have drawn on new approaches connected to reception, translation, gender and education studies, widening the imagological scope and its range of methodological tools. This article examines the nature of the imagological undertaking, its current spread worldwide, and shows how this comparative literary field upholds a cosmopolitan ethos.

The Vernaculars of No One, Really. The (Un?)Translatable Fictional Languages

The present paper aims to show the two possible directions, effects, manifestations of the fictional languages in general. Thus, according to the purposes of their creation, fictional languages have, throughout history, been created in order to achieve certain political, aesthetic or playful purposes, but the most fundamental feature that divides them into two categories is one strongly linked to the purpose of their creation: whether or not they can be learned and used in day-to-day life. Thus, whether they originated in the Sci-Fi, Fantasy or in the literary Avant-Garde universes, the issue of their purpose (to hide or to reveal meaning) also raises the issue of their translatability and, most of all, the issue of their “educability”, issues that may or may not harm their aesthetic dimensions.

Mission Possible: Intercultural Communication and the Quest for Finding Shared Meaning

The source of objective meaning is a controversial topic. For most of human history, religion had a monopoly on meaning, truth, and values. But from the nineteenth century onwards and with relativism gaining more popularity, this began to change, leaving most people divided into two main camps: those who believe in the existence of objective meaning and truth and those who maintain that such concepts simply do not exist. The resulting impossibility of finding shared meaning is very problematic, especially when it comes to intercultural communication. In fact, to speak of communication is to speak of common meaning. In this paper, I attempt to provide a definition for intercultural communication, explore the issue of shared meaning, and propose a culture-free approach to the latter—one that is based on reverting to an axiomatic understanding of the notion of meaning. My aim is to conclude that the failure of both dogmatism and relativism to sustain intercultural communication should not be interpreted pessimistically. Quite the opposite, it should be viewed as an opportunity to investigate other promising alternatives, mainly Sam Harris’s science of morality.

Shaping the Canon. The International Profile of Viața Românească (1906-1916)

The present paper aims to investigate the circulation of foreign cultural input in one of the most important Romanian literary periodicals of the prewar era. The main focus of the present research revolves around the means by which the editorial group of Viața Românească (The Romanian Life), have managed to create an international dialogue oriented towards Western models that helped shape the modernization of both the autochthonous literary production and the critical or theoretical national systems. Generally considered a rather reactionary community, with nationalistic tendencies, the aforementioned literary group has engaged in many occasions into transplanting foreign theoretical and critical models. The amplitude of these communications and its quite remarkable effects on the Romanian cultural scene may still come as a surprise. By means of quantitative and digital methods, the present proposal attempts to measure and investigate this very particular process.

(Post)colonial Chronopolitics and Mapping the Depth of Local Time(s) in Global Literary Studies: an Itinerary to Guinea-Bissau

This article is an attempt at deconstructing the chronopolitics inherent to the (post)colonial way of thinking about the world. As it is argued, what should replace it is a vision of multiple, overlying temporalities and forms of time awareness, reaching deeper than a literary history reduced to the cycle of colonisation – decolonisation – postcolonial becoming, originating from just a single maritime event: the European exploration and conquest of the world. The essay brings forth a choice of interwoven examples illustrating the variability of local time depths, associated with a plurality of origins, narrations, forms of awareness and cultivation of cultural belonging. It shows the lack of coincidence between the dominant and non-dominant perceptions of the past in such places as the archipelagos of São Tomé and Príncipe, Maldives, the Gambia, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau. Their ways of living the global time, as well as embodying significant texts (rather than simply preserving them) stretch far beyond the frameworks created by competing colonial empires, such as the Portuguese or the British one.

Donald W. Winnicott’s Theory, Literature, and Migration

When Donald W. Winnicott conceived his psychoanalytical concepts and theories, initially meant to address problems associated with the relationship between a mother and her child, the British paediatrician was aware they could be meaningful for understanding cultural issues too. One of the key questions when dealing with literature as a form of culture is to what extent the representation of the self in it is true or false. Winnicott’s theory of transitional objects – items used to provide psychological comfort – can operate as a significant critical tool when trying to answer such questions. This paper firstly explores the reception of Winnicott’s theory of transitional objects and phenomena and other associated concepts in literary criticism. It moves further to demonstrate it is especially relevant when literature travels or deals with international migration. Last but not least, it presents several possible limitations for the field of literary criticism, taking into consideration contemporary theories about the location of culture.