Housed in NYU's Department of Comparative Literature, this working groups seeks to complement the new certificate program "Comparative Approaches to the Literatures of Africa, the Middle East, and the Global South" (CALAMEGS). Our principal aim is to extend the geographic, linguistic and literary scope of Comparative Literature beyond its Eurocentric tendencies by tapping into the fields and work of Area Studies, History, Performance Studies and other programs. Further, we seek to explore the notion of the "Global South," along with its genealogies, as a paradigm for comparative research that moves beyond geographically-based programs of study. In addition to discussing theoretical texts and primary sources, we seek to be a platform for knowledge production where participants engage in translations, host interdisciplinary events and present their works-in-progress. We invite all students, faculty and others interested in such approaches to join.
This semester’s theme is “Translation”. We will meet every other week starting September 20, 2018 from 6-7:30 pm in room 229 19 University Place. This week’s reading is Lu Xun’s “Hard Translation and the Class Character of Literature”. Join our mailing list to obtain readings and announcements by clicking here.