Literary studies are being transformed by the emerging disciplinary field of World Literature. Yet the world of literature is by no means self-evident. Issues of language and culture, national and global identity, originality and translation raise as many questions as they answer. What is the world in the new literary studies? And how does literary theory relate to this world? What are the appropriate structures for understanding literatures as a global phenomenon? Where do languages and cultures belong in relation to theoretical approaches that are largely defined and determined by Anglo-American interests? Is the nation-state or the language culture the only, or even the appropriate structure within which to locate literary traditions and histories, or are other structures needed?

In this one-day conference at the Humanities Research Centre, ANU Canberra, literary scholars explore the relationships between the nation, language and the world, world literature and transnational methodology, the individual literary voice and its global reception.

Keynote Speakers:
Professor John Flower (University of Kent)
Professor David Roberts (Monash University)

Convenor: Ash Collins Ashok Collins: Email (ashok.collins@anu.edu.au)