How much more can be gained from a piece of World Literature when the reader is semiotically literate in the culture that produced the work？ What are the implications of introducing the element of cultural literacy i...How much more can be gained from a piece of World Literature when the reader is semiotically literate in the culture that produced the work？ What are the implications of introducing the element of cultural literacy into the teaching of world literature, and how might culturally contextualizing the narrative enhance the reading experience for those who may not be familiar with the national culture that produced the work？ This paper examines these questions using as a case study The Tale of Genji （n.d.）, a novel from llth century Japan and ＂La Troisi6me Jeunesse de Madame Prune＂ （1905）, a French text set in Japan at the turn of the 20th century. Using examples taken from each writer＇s text, the author will show how a knowledge of both the target culture and the time period in which the work was produced can serve as a critical tool for analyzing the text; the former text shall be used to argue for an integration of a cultural anthropology element into the teaching of world literature, while the latter example shall be used to argue for the importance of contextualizing a text within its historical creation period. In concluding, the author shall examine the ways in which including an element of cultural literacy can lead to a truly interdisciplinary, trans-national, and trans-linguistic understanding of a particular literary text.展开更多
The French novelist Sylvie Germain spent 6 years in Czechoslovakia before, during, and after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that ended four decades of oppressive totalitarian rule in that country. As a result of her st...The French novelist Sylvie Germain spent 6 years in Czechoslovakia before, during, and after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that ended four decades of oppressive totalitarian rule in that country. As a result of her stay, Germain produced four texts that are imbued with painful Czech stories and memories of both the Holocaust and the Communist era. This study examines the inscription of Germain＇ s encounter with the （Czech） other into her writing through tropes of exile and dispossession, of the suffering or wounded body, and of illness. Although Germain did not experience either the Holocaust or totalitarianism at first hand, and has moreover no claim to a Czech heritage, I posit that her work can nonetheless be interpreted as a transnational witness to the suffering of the （Czech） other. Using theories of the self and other, as well as theories of exile and of the narration of illness, I discuss how Germain＇s work negotiates the fine line between an appropriation of the stories of the other and an ethical responsibility to respond to other stories of pain.展开更多
In Around the World in Eighty Days, Jules Verne presents chapters describing nineteenth-century Hong Kong. In the pioneering Tribulations of a Chinese in China he creates a complex Chinese hero and provides a relative...In Around the World in Eighty Days, Jules Verne presents chapters describing nineteenth-century Hong Kong. In the pioneering Tribulations of a Chinese in China he creates a complex Chinese hero and provides a relatively accurate description of contemporary conditions, based on first-hand sources. Verne’s manuscript and correspondence with his publisher show, however, that this novel underwent considerable changes before publication.展开更多
文摘How much more can be gained from a piece of World Literature when the reader is semiotically literate in the culture that produced the work？ What are the implications of introducing the element of cultural literacy into the teaching of world literature, and how might culturally contextualizing the narrative enhance the reading experience for those who may not be familiar with the national culture that produced the work？ This paper examines these questions using as a case study The Tale of Genji （n.d.）, a novel from llth century Japan and ＂La Troisi6me Jeunesse de Madame Prune＂ （1905）, a French text set in Japan at the turn of the 20th century. Using examples taken from each writer＇s text, the author will show how a knowledge of both the target culture and the time period in which the work was produced can serve as a critical tool for analyzing the text; the former text shall be used to argue for an integration of a cultural anthropology element into the teaching of world literature, while the latter example shall be used to argue for the importance of contextualizing a text within its historical creation period. In concluding, the author shall examine the ways in which including an element of cultural literacy can lead to a truly interdisciplinary, trans-national, and trans-linguistic understanding of a particular literary text.
文摘The French novelist Sylvie Germain spent 6 years in Czechoslovakia before, during, and after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that ended four decades of oppressive totalitarian rule in that country. As a result of her stay, Germain produced four texts that are imbued with painful Czech stories and memories of both the Holocaust and the Communist era. This study examines the inscription of Germain＇ s encounter with the （Czech） other into her writing through tropes of exile and dispossession, of the suffering or wounded body, and of illness. Although Germain did not experience either the Holocaust or totalitarianism at first hand, and has moreover no claim to a Czech heritage, I posit that her work can nonetheless be interpreted as a transnational witness to the suffering of the （Czech） other. Using theories of the self and other, as well as theories of exile and of the narration of illness, I discuss how Germain＇s work negotiates the fine line between an appropriation of the stories of the other and an ethical responsibility to respond to other stories of pain.
文摘In Around the World in Eighty Days, Jules Verne presents chapters describing nineteenth-century Hong Kong. In the pioneering Tribulations of a Chinese in China he creates a complex Chinese hero and provides a relatively accurate description of contemporary conditions, based on first-hand sources. Verne’s manuscript and correspondence with his publisher show, however, that this novel underwent considerable changes before publication.
