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Connecting the Dots. Italian Literature in a Global History of Literature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2013

Bart Van Den Bossche
Bart Van Den Bossche*
Affiliation:
Research Group MDRN, Arts, University of Leuven/KU Leuven, Blijde Inkomststraat 21-3311, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. E-mail: bart.vandenbossche@arts.kuleuven.be
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Abstract

The goals and methods of a global history of literature may not always be easily reconcilable with those pertinent to local (‘national’ or ‘regional’) literary traditions; however, behind the, at times, lengthy or painstaking discussions on the criteria of selection, emphasis, and on more or less necessary nuances, there are also a number of deeper and more fundamental issues at stake in a global history of literature that can be fruitfully approached through the looking-glass of a local literary tradition. Even characteristics of a particular tradition of literature that may seem specific, even highly specific, can give rise to intriguing questions bearing on some of the wide-ranging issues tied to a global perspective on literature. More in particular, with regard to Italian literature, three issues come to the fore: the way literary history deals with the question of agency, the connections between literary history and cultural repertoires, and the question of canonicity and ideology in literary historiography.

Type
Focus: Writing a History of European Literature as Part of a World History of Literature
Information
European Review , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , May 2013 , pp. 300 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © Academia Europaea 2013

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References

References and Notes

1. See De Vulgari Eloquentia, II, ii–xiv.Google Scholar
2. See Purgatorio II, 76–117 (Casella); VI, 58–75 (Sordello da Goito); XXI, 76–131 (Stazio), XXIII, 37–133 e XXIV, 1–33 (Forese Donati), XXIV, 34–63 (Bonagiunta Orbicciani), XXVI, 88–135 (Guido Guinizzelli) e XXVI, 136–148 (Arnaut Daniel). See Martinez, R.R. (1995) Dante and the two canons: statius in Virgil's footsteps (Purgatorio 21–30). Comparative Literature Studies, XXXII(2), pp. 151–175.Google Scholar
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7. The most striking example is chapter XIX of the second volume of De Sanctis’ Storia, called La nuova scienza, dedicated to scientific and philosophic writings of Galilei, Campanella, Muratori and the lot.Google Scholar
8. To quote just one example: the 14-volume Storia della letteratura italiana directed by Enrico Malato (Roma, Salerno editrice, 1994–2004) dedicates large sections to historiography and scientific literature, in particular in the volumes on the 15th, 16th and 17th century.Google Scholar
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18. See for instance Jossa, S. (2010) L'Italia letteraria (Bologna: Il Mulino) F. Bruni (2010) Italia. Vita e avventure di un'idea (Bologna: Il Mulino); G. Ferroni (2009) Prima lezione di letteratura italiana (Bari: Laterza). On the formation of a national literary canon, see E. Elli (2006) Un'idea di canone. Foscolo, Carducci, Pascoli (Novara: Interlinea).Google Scholar