Interliterariness as a Concept in Comparative Literature

Authors

Marián Gálik, Comenius University, Bratislava

Abstract

In his article, "Interliterariness as a Concept in Comparative Literature," Marián Gálik observes that the concept of interliterariness has a relative short history and limited application owing to geo-political reasons. He traces the history of the concept and cites instances of its use within the Central European scholarship of comparative literature. Dionýz Durišin is identified as the most prominent exponent of the concept and Gálik then locates the question of interliterariness within the context of its potential applications. The concept of interliterariness is defended as both a guiding and unifying principle in so far as it is irreducible, relative, and encompassing. Interliterariness provides the universal concept of literature and the study of literature with an ontological grounding and epistemological justification. Literatures may therefore be compared and understood via a historical process and with respect to a systematic series of related literary facts across cultural boundaries, movements, and moments. Literature thereby remains an interliterary global community, one characterized by trans/formations. Consequently, the system(at)ic study of any given literature(s) should trans/form itself accordingly.

Recommended Citation

Gálik, Marián. "Interliterariness as a Concept in Comparative Literature." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 2.4 (2000): <https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.1089>

This text has been double-blind peer reviewed by 2+1 experts in the field.