World Literature and Global Storytelling

Aim

After completion of the course the student shall be able to:

• account for the history of world literature and literatures from the global South
• discuss and contextualize concepts of world literature and literatures from the global South
• explain basic theories concerning world literature and literatures from the global South
• problematize the division between written and oral storytelling
• discuss the role of translations in literary mediation
• employ concepts and theories from the field of world literature in the analysis of literary texts

Content

The course explores the concept world literature from a historical and theoretical perspective. The impact of oral storytelling on written texts and the role of translation for the dissemination of fiction is discussed. The role of translations in the transmission of literature is examined in relation to translatability, transparency, as well as linguistic and cultural uniqueness. The course actualizes perceptions of center and periphery, marginality, postcolonial criticism and decolonial thinking through its focus on literary expressions from the global South. Special emphasis is placed on power dynamics, gender, racialization, the environment and ecology.