Comparative Literature

Comparative literature (sometimes abbreviated "Comp. lit.") is

an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different
linguistic, cultural or national groups. While most frequently practiced
with works of different languages, comparative literature may also be
performed on works of the same language if the works originate from
different nations or cultures among which that language is spoken. Also
included in the range of inquiry are comparisons of different types of
art; for example, a relationship of film to literature.

Overview:
Students and instructors in the field, usually called
"comparatists," have traditionally been proficient in several
languages and acquainted with the literary traditions, literary criticism,
and major literary texts of those languages. Some of the newer sub-
fields, however, are more influenced by critical theory and literary
theory.

The complex nature of the field means that comparatists typically

show some acquaintance with translation studies, sociology, critical
theory, cultural studies, religious studies, and history. As a result,
comparative literature programs within universities may be designed
by scholars drawn from several such departments.

French School:
In the early part of the 20th century until WWII, the field was
characterized by a notably empiricist and positivist approach, termed
the "French School", in which scholars examined works forensically,
looking for evidence of "origins" and "influences" between works from
different nations. Thus a scholar might attempt to trace how a
particular literary idea or motif traveled between nations over time.

American School:
Reacting to the French School, postwar scholars, collectively
termed the "American School", sought to return the field to matters
more directly concerned with literary criticism, de-emphasizing the
detailed historical research that the French School had demanded. The
American School was more closely connected with the original
internationalist visions of Goethe and Posnett (reflecting the postwar
desire for international co-operation), looking for examples of universal
human "truths" based on the literary archetypes that appeared
throughout literatures from all times and places.

Prior to the advent of the American School, the scope of

Comparative Literature in the West was typically limited to the
literatures of Western Europe and Anglo-America, predominantly
literature in English, German and French literature, with occasional
discussions of Italian literature and Spanish literature. One monument
to the approach of this period is Erich Auerbach's book Mimesis, a
survey of techniques of realism in texts whose origins span several
continents and three thousand years.

The approach of the American School would be familiar to current

researchers in Cultural Studies. The field today is highly diverse: for
example, comparatists routinely study Chinese literature, Arabic
literature and the literatures of most other major world languages and
regions as well as English and continental European literatures.

Current Developments:
Indeed, there is a movement among comparatists in the US and
elsewhere to re-focus the discipline away from the nation-based
approach with which it has previously been associated towards a cross-
cultural approach that pays no attention to national borders. It remains
to be seen whether this approach will prove successful given that
Comparative Literature had its roots in nation-based thinking and much
of the literature under study still concerns issues of the nation-state.
Current trends in Comparative literature also reflect the growing
importance of cultural studies in the fields of literature.