The Canonical Debate Today

The Canonical Debate Today. Crossing Disciplinary and Cultural Boundaries re-enacts the canonical issues current in the ’90s from a new perspective, triggered by the changes that occurred worldwide in understanding the concepts and the status of theory, in the legacy of literary studies within the field of humanities, and in cultural production and reception. During the last decade discussions of globalization mostly took into account its impact on the status of academic disciplines such as comparative literature or cultural studies, or the reconfiguration of national literary fields. These debates do not dispense with canonicity altogether but make it more urgent and necessary. Canons seen as sets of norms or regulatory practices are central to the formation of disciplines, to the recognition and transmission of values, even to the articulation of discourses on identity on various levels. The three sections of the volume deal with three interrelated subjects: theories and applicable contexts of the canon (Canons and Contexts); recent transformations in the area of literary studies in response to the task of canon formation (Reshaping Literary Studies); and the challenges brought to the understanding of the canon(s) by the current process of re-defining literary and cultural boundaries (Transgressing Literary and Cultural Boundaries). This volume will appeal to researchers, teachers, and students of cultural studies, comparative literature, and literary theory.