Comparative Literature in the Age of Multiculturalism

Charles Bernheimer is cochair of the program in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Pennsylvania. His books include Flaubert and Kafka: Studies in Psychopoetic Structure and Figures of Ill Repute: Representing Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century France.

Charles Bernheimer closes the 'Preface' to this collection with an appropriate, even if seemingly grand, claim for the success of the book after having outlined how quickly it was assembled: 'The result is a volume that offers an extraordinary range of passionate insights and engaged opinions about the theory and practice at the turn of the century' (xi). Rather than hyperbolic, this indeed is a fitting description for a very important and timely collection, that not only addresses the most pressing issues affecting the discipline of Comparitive Literature, but actually voices a remarkable number of intellectual and political confrontations affecting literary studies in general. Paulo de Medeiros, College Literature Offers an arresting look at a disipline in the process of reinventing itself in responce to these challenges. R. Lane Kauffman, Transculture This compelling book, designed to offer a thorough examination of the identity and goals of comparative literature in the age of multiculturalism, is both informative and insightful. Stephane Spoiden, Research in African Literatures This anthology brings together three American Comparative Literature Association reports (1965, 1975, and 1993) with three responses to the latest report at the Modern Language Association convention as well as thirteen position papers from various scholars in the humanities. Sensitive to the Eurocentrism of much comparative literature these essays map out the issues of integrating a serious multiculturalism into the field and how it portends to redefine completely the field. Recommended as a focused anthology on the issues of integrating multiculturalism into academic practice. Reader's Review The strength of this collection is that it provides no neat resolution to the current debates about the status of literature, the geographical scope of the field, and methods of reading. Instead it demonstrates how this lack of consensus can be a constructive and revitalizing force that will carry the discipline of comparative literature into the twenty-first century. -- Carrie Tirado Bramen Multicultural Review