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Literary, Cultural and Political Essays, 2009–2021
Author:
Crisis and Criticism is a series of interventions from 2009 to 2021 engaging with the literary, cultural and political responses to the capitalist crisis of 2007–8. Challenging the tendency to treat crisis as natural and beyond human control, this book interrogates our cultural understanding of crisis and suggests the necessity of ruthless criticism of the existing world. While responses to crisis have retreated from the critical, choosing to inhabit apocalyptic fantasies instead, only a critical understanding of the causes of crisis within capitalism itself can promise their eventual overcoming.
Literary, Cultural and Political Essays, 2009–2021
Author:
Crisis and Criticism is a series of interventions from 2009 to 2021 engaging with the literary, cultural and political responses to the capitalist crisis of 2007–8. Challenging the tendency to treat crisis as natural and beyond human control, this book interrogates our cultural understanding of crisis and suggests the necessity of ruthless criticism of the existing world. While responses to crisis have retreated from the critical, choosing to inhabit apocalyptic fantasies instead, only a critical understanding of the causes of crisis within capitalism itself can promise their eventual overcoming.
Series:
Chinese Overseas, Volume: 22
Author:
Classical-style poetry in modern China and other Sinitic-speaking localities is attracting greater attention with the recent upsurge in academic revision of modern Chinese literary history. Using the concept of cultural transplantation, this monograph attempts to illustrate the uniqueness, compatibility, and adaptability of classical Chinese poetry in colonial Singapore as well as its sustained connections with literary tradition and homeland. It demonstrates how the reading of classical Chinese poetry can better our understanding of Singapore’s political, social, and cultural history, deepen knowledge of the transregional relationship between China and Nanyang, and fine-tune, redress, and enrich our perception of Singapore Chinese literature, Sinophone literature, the Chinese diaspora, and global Chinese identity.
Series:
Chinese Overseas, Volume: 22
Author:
Classical-style poetry in modern China and other Sinitic-speaking localities is attracting greater attention with the recent upsurge in academic revision of modern Chinese literary history. Using the concept of cultural transplantation, this monograph attempts to illustrate the uniqueness, compatibility, and adaptability of classical Chinese poetry in colonial Singapore as well as its sustained connections with literary tradition and homeland. It demonstrates how the reading of classical Chinese poetry can better our understanding of Singapore’s political, social, and cultural history, deepen knowledge of the transregional relationship between China and Nanyang, and fine-tune, redress, and enrich our perception of Singapore Chinese literature, Sinophone literature, the Chinese diaspora, and global Chinese identity.
A Pioneer of Comparative Literature and a Global Public Intellectual
Georg Brandes (1842-1927) was one of the leading literary critics in Europe of his time. His Main Currents of Nineteenth Century Literature (1872-1890) was a foundational text to the field of comparative literature and extolled by Thomas Mann as the “Bible of the young intellectual Europe at the turn of the century.” Georg Brandes eventually developed into a truly global public intellectual, living by his pen and public lectures. On the eve of World War I, he was one of the most sought-after commentators, vigorously opposing all conflicting factions. This book seeks to understand Brandes’ trajectory, to evaluate Brandes’ significance for current discussions of literary criticism and public engagement, and to introduce Brandes to an international audience. It consists of 15 original chapters commissioned from experts in the field.
A Pioneer of Comparative Literature and a Global Public Intellectual
Georg Brandes (1842-1927) was one of the leading literary critics in Europe of his time. His Main Currents of Nineteenth Century Literature (1872-1890) was a foundational text to the field of comparative literature and extolled by Thomas Mann as the “Bible of the young intellectual Europe at the turn of the century.” Georg Brandes eventually developed into a truly global public intellectual, living by his pen and public lectures. On the eve of World War I, he was one of the most sought-after commentators, vigorously opposing all conflicting factions. This book seeks to understand Brandes’ trajectory, to evaluate Brandes’ significance for current discussions of literary criticism and public engagement, and to introduce Brandes to an international audience. It consists of 15 original chapters commissioned from experts in the field.
Global and Transnational Perspectives
This collection focuses on the specific issue of controversy as a cross-sectional aspect of contemporary children’s and YA literature, in a spectrum stretching from national experiences, to explore the impact of specific historical, economic and social environments on the rise of controversies; to inter-national exchanges in which controversies are generated specifically by the interactions between cultures; to international contexts that deal with controversies relevant on a global scale. By adopting controversy as an adjustable lens for a joined consideration of literary themes, narrative or aesthetic solutions, translation choices, publishing and marketing decisions, and discursive practices, the volume establishes a diversified collection of chapters that offers new insight into functions of children’s and YA literature in contemporary culture.
Global and Transnational Perspectives
This collection focuses on the specific issue of controversy as a cross-sectional aspect of contemporary children’s and YA literature, in a spectrum stretching from national experiences, to explore the impact of specific historical, economic and social environments on the rise of controversies; to inter-national exchanges in which controversies are generated specifically by the interactions between cultures; to international contexts that deal with controversies relevant on a global scale. By adopting controversy as an adjustable lens for a joined consideration of literary themes, narrative or aesthetic solutions, translation choices, publishing and marketing decisions, and discursive practices, the volume establishes a diversified collection of chapters that offers new insight into functions of children’s and YA literature in contemporary culture.
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The electronic version of the series Approaches to Translation Studies..
Approaches to Translation Studies is an international series promoting the scholarly study of translation. The notion of plural ‘approaches’ to translation and its study calls up images of scholarly explorers following untrodden paths to translation, or more cautiously (re)tracing the familiar routes. Either way, it indicates a refusal to be tied to dogma or prejudice, a curiosity about possible new vistas, and an awareness that the observer’s view depends on where s/he comes from. But a recognition of the plurality of possible approaches does not necessarily mean passive acquiescence to relativism and scepticism. The idea of ‘approaching’ translation also implies a sense of purpose and direction.
In the context of today’s globalised and pluralised world, this metaphorically suggested perspective is perhaps more relevant than ever before. The series therefore remains fully committed to it, while trying to respond to the rapid changes of our digital age. Ready to travel between genres, media and technologies, willing to span centuries and continents, and always keeping an open mind about the various oppositions that have too often needlessly divided researchers (e.g. high culture versus popular culture, linguistics versus literary studies versus cultural studies, translation ‘proper’ versus ‘adaptation’), the series Approaches to Translation Studies will continue to accommodate all translation-oriented books that match high-quality scholarship with an equal concern for reader-friendly communication.
Approaches to Translation Studies is open to a wide range of scholarly publications in the field of Translation Studies (monographs, collective volumes…). Dissertations are welcome but will obviously need to be thoroughly adapted to their new function and readership. Conference proceedings and collections of articles will only be considered if they show strong thematic unity and tight editorial control. For practical reasons, the series intends to continue its tradition of publishing English-language research. While students, teachers and scholars in the various schools and branches of Translation Studies make up its primary readership, the series also aims to promote a dialogue with readers and authors from various neighbouring disciplines.
Approaches to Translation Studies was launched in 1970 by James S Holmes (1924-1986), who was also one of the ‘founding fathers’ of Translation Studies as an academic discipline. At later stages the series’ editorship passed into the hands of Raymond van den Broeck, Kitty M. van Leuven-Zwart and Ton Naaijkens. Being the very first international series specifically catering for the needs of the fledgling discipline in the 1970s, Approaches to Translation Studies has played a significant historical role in providing it with a much needed platform as well as giving it greater visibility in the academic marketplace.
Authors are cordially invited to submit proposals and/or full manuscripts to the publisher at BRILL, Masja Horn.
Volumes 2, 4, and 5 were published by Van Gorcum (Assen, The Netherlands), but orders should be directed to Brill | Rodopi.
The series published an average of two volumes per year over the last 5 years.
Approaches to Translation Studies is an international series promoting the scholarly study of translation. The notion of plural ‘approaches’ to translation and its study calls up images of scholarly explorers following untrodden paths to translation, or more cautiously (re)tracing the familiar routes. Either way, it indicates a refusal to be tied to dogma or prejudice, a curiosity about possible new vistas, and an awareness that the observer’s view depends on where s/he comes from. But a recognition of the plurality of possible approaches does not necessarily mean passive acquiescence to relativism and scepticism. The idea of ‘approaching’ translation also implies a sense of purpose and direction.
In the context of today’s globalised and pluralised world, this metaphorically suggested perspective is perhaps more relevant than ever before. The series therefore remains fully committed to it, while trying to respond to the rapid changes of our digital age. Ready to travel between genres, media and technologies, willing to span centuries and continents, and always keeping an open mind about the various oppositions that have too often needlessly divided researchers (e.g. high culture versus popular culture, linguistics versus literary studies versus cultural studies, translation ‘proper’ versus ‘adaptation’), the series Approaches to Translation Studies will continue to accommodate all translation-oriented books that match high-quality scholarship with an equal concern for reader-friendly communication.
Approaches to Translation Studies is open to a wide range of scholarly publications in the field of Translation Studies (monographs, collective volumes…). Dissertations are welcome but will obviously need to be thoroughly adapted to their new function and readership. Conference proceedings and collections of articles will only be considered if they show strong thematic unity and tight editorial control. For practical reasons, the series intends to continue its tradition of publishing English-language research. While students, teachers and scholars in the various schools and branches of Translation Studies make up its primary readership, the series also aims to promote a dialogue with readers and authors from various neighbouring disciplines.
Approaches to Translation Studies was launched in 1970 by James S Holmes (1924-1986), who was also one of the ‘founding fathers’ of Translation Studies as an academic discipline. At later stages the series’ editorship passed into the hands of Raymond van den Broeck, Kitty M. van Leuven-Zwart and Ton Naaijkens. Being the very first international series specifically catering for the needs of the fledgling discipline in the 1970s, Approaches to Translation Studies has played a significant historical role in providing it with a much needed platform as well as giving it greater visibility in the academic marketplace.
Authors are cordially invited to submit proposals and/or full manuscripts to the publisher at BRILL, Masja Horn.
Volumes 2, 4, and 5 were published by Van Gorcum (Assen, The Netherlands), but orders should be directed to Brill | Rodopi.
The series published an average of two volumes per year over the last 5 years.
Author:
Abstract
This chapter discusses three Polish annotated editions of Charles Perrault’s fairy tales from 2012, 2017, and 2018, placing them within a larger network of controversies present in the system of children’s literature. On the one hand, fairy tales have been either perceived as authorless and timeless products of the folk spirit and the collective unconscious, or presented as literary artefacts created by individuals in specific historical contexts. On the other hand, the annotated edition formula intended for school readings evokes reactions ranging from approval of its usefulness to rejection of its anti-humanist character. Thus, the status of the tales presented in the analysed editions alternates between sanctified literary artefacts and ownerless “types”, freely bowdlerized and rewritten in order to fit the mould of the fairy-tale ideal conceived by contemporary educators and publishers. Shaped by tacit manipulations of the texts’ meanings, and suspended between the realm of written folklore and classic literature, the annotated editions conceal the presence of the adaptor, falsify the voice of the original author, turn “Perrault” into no more than a brand name, and deprive the (child) reader of cognitive independence, subjecting him or her to a ready-made and conformist interpretation of the tales.
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Abstract
Taking a look at articles and opinion pieces from Dutch newspapers covering the ongoing debate around controversial race and gender depictions in literary classics, this chapter scrutinizes where the practice of altering old children’s books originates from, and works out opinions and reasoning behind it. The analysis is aimed to find out which modes of thinking cause many to view the controversial choice of censoring old children’s books as justified. It further demonstrates that such justification is stimulated by hierarchical thinking expressed through a teleological outlook on history. It motivates historical othering, a practice very similar to regarding children as other in comparison to adults, which causes old children’s literature to be especially vulnerable to this type of logic. The analysis reveals that people still largely view children as passive readers, easily influenced by what they read and unable to engage in equal dialogue with a text. This contradicts the statements of certain scholars and opinion makers who argue that children do not necessarily adopt the images present in a text, or the subject position it proposes.
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Abstract
Brecht Evens’ Panther is a visual narrative whose convoluted form explores the cultural status of childhood and exposes the degree to which the concept of childhood may be mystified and misunderstood in modern societies. As argued in this chapter, Panther’s implications and metaphorical senses address controversies inherent in the very genre of children’s literature. By alluding to children’s literature and yet targeting the work at a more adult audience, Panther contests cultural norms surrounding the “child”/“adult” distinction, challenges strict categorisations of literary works, and becomes a kind of metacritical commentary on the cultural status and role of children’s literature. What is more, Panther can be seen as a text which refers ironically to the controversy implied in the cultural status of fairy tales. Exploiting and twisting some of the iconic conventions of well-known fairy tales, Panther exposes the hypocrisy of the fairy tale, which has been solidified with time as a genre that communicates “humanistic” values to its audience, although its history has been defined by the presence of dark, even antihumanistic, subjects and very ambivalent plot twists and endings.
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Abstract
This chapter focuses on four titles whose publication evoked controversy, even though Scandinavian picturebooks are perceived as dialogue-oriented, appreciative of child readers, and eager to discuss difficult taboo issues. The presented analysis explores the double address of the iconotexts, understood as the intricate interplay of text and image. Through qualitative analysis focused on selected doublespreads, as well as discussion of epitexts, it examines the verbal and visual narration of the taboo themes (abortion, incest, pornography, child death) from the perspective of a novice reader and an experienced reader. The chapter refers the provocative, eccentric, transgressive and metaphoric qualities of the discussed picturebooks to Olga Tokarczuk’s vision of perfect literature.
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Abstract
This chapter discusses an influential and culturally significant children’s novel Król Maciuś Pierwszy (King Matt the First) (1922) by Janusz Korczak, a pen name for Henryk Goldschmit. The analysis focuses on the representation of friendship between the main child protagonists and how it is modeled in the novel’s English translation. The depiction of these main child characters and their friendship in the Polish source text is interpreted as a covert and overlooked controversy, introducing elements of gender bending and non-normativity with reference to social roles and gender identity. Further, the chapter shows how these potentially controversial aspects are mediated in the novel’s translations into English. In light of a universal observation that ideologically “troubling” elements of the source text are likely to become the subject of mediating practices in translation for children, it is hypothesized that if some elements of the said relationships were not considered suitable for child audiences, they would have been mitigated in early translations, when the acceptance for censoring changes in translated children’s literature was greater than today.