Knowledge and Commitment : A Problem-oriented Approach to Literary Studies

Fokkema, Douwe Wessel ; & Ibsch, Elrud

ISBN 10: 9027222223 / ISBN 13: 9789027222220

Published by John Benjamins Publ. Co., Amsterdam / Philadelphia, 2000

About this Item

22x14cm, x,217 pp., Series: Utrecht Publications in General and Comparative Literature, vol. 33. ISBN: 9027222223 [EU] / 1556196792 [US]. Contents : 1. Introduction. 1.1. The applicability of scientific methods. 1.2. The nature of research. 1.3. Major research problems -- 2. Interpretation and Explanation. 2.1. Understanding and its argumentational validation. 2.2. The empirical study of literature: problem-solving and explanatory validation. 2.3. The conventional distinction between fact and fiction -- 3. Canons: Critical and Didactic Instruments. 3.1. The canon debate. 3.2. Historical developments in canon formation in the West and in modern China. 3.3. Research into the composition of canons. 3.4. Critical and didactic interventions -- 4. Literary History. 4.1. The problem of literary historiography. [".

Seller Inventory # 009409

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Knowledge and Commitment : A Problem-oriented Approach to Literary Studies
• Publisher: John Benjamins Publ. Co., Amsterdam / Philadelphia
• Publication Date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 9027222223
• ISBN 13: 9789027222220
• Binding: orig. boards
• Condition: Minor wear. VG.
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literary Criticism

About this title

Synopsis

The authors present a new perspective on a wide range of issues in the study of literature and culture. Some of the topics discussed, such as interpretation, canon formation, and literary historiography, belong to the traditional domain of literary studies. Others ― cultural identity, convention, systems theory, and empirical methods ― originate in the social sciences and are now being integrated into the humanities. By referring to the work of authors as widely apart as Hayden White, Edward Said, Fredric Jameson, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Reinhart Koselleck, Pierre Bourdieu, Niklas Luhmann, Siegfried Schmidt, Norbert Groeben, and many others, the full complexity of the field of literary studies becomes apparent.The authors argue for a distinction between analysis of literary systems on the one hand and critical intervention on the other. By distinguishing between research and criticism, between knowledge and commitment, they offer new ways for literary studies as well as for cultural critique.

Synopsis

In this text, the authors present their views of the debate on interpretation, canon formation and literary historiography. In doing so, they broach topics such as cultural identity, social convention, systems theory and empirical methods.