外国文学是什么?

What Is Foreign Literature?

中国的外国文学被分配在两个学术机构下,一是中国语言文学一级学科下的比较文学与世界文学,二是外国语言文学一级学科下的国别文学。两种外国文学有何异同?中文学科下的外国文学与母语文学方法一致,同为继承与发扬自己的文化传统,只借他山之石为己所用,以认同性视点切入,属文学本体论。外语学科下的国别文学则以分析对象国文学为圭臬,视角是对象性的,间接服务于对象国研究。不同的学术诉求决定两种外国文学不属同一学科。

Foreign literature Studies as an academic discipline in China has been divided into two subdisciplines:the Literature of Foreign Nations and Comparative &World literature.The first sub-discipline can be compared with the Area Studies in the United States,which is a consequence of the nation's attempts to perform in the international arena.The second may fall into the category of general literature studies.The wars or crises in American history have always been accompanied by a renewed appreciation of the importance of foreign language fluency and of knowledge about the culture and politics of the enemy.Likewise,the foreign studies in China's Mainland after 1949 also address the issues of foreign policies and international relations during the Cold War.In the light of different objectives of the disciplines,the two types of studies are subject to the‘objective'or‘empathetic'approach to foreign literary texts.