World Literatures, Comparative Literature, and Glocal Cosmopolitanism

In his article "World Literatures, Comparative Literature, and Glocal Cosmopolitanism" Paolo Bartoloni reflects on the topos of the crisis of literature and the humanities. An urge to question the status and the relevance of literature; to investigate the relation between literature and literary studies; and the location of literature within the context of a transforming world has emerged in the last three decades. Assuming that a bond exists between literature and the world, what is its nature? Is it possible to take an interest in literature without knowing its potential relevance or its world? These questions are related to the serious state of disrepair in which literary studies departments find themselves in the Western world. This essay aspires to contribute to the debate on the place of literature by focusing on the ideas of comparative literature and world literature.