It is with regret that we announce the cancellation of the event below.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE: PRINCIPLES, PRACTICES, AND PERSPECTIVES
SUMMER SCHOOL, 29 JUNE – 1 JULY 2020
CENTRE FOR MODERN EUROPEAN LITERATURE, UNIVERSITY OF KENT
Overview
Funded by the Consortium for the Humanities in South-East England (CHASE) and the British Comparative Literature Association (BCLA), this summer school offers intensive training in the principles and practices of comparative literature. Since its foundation in June 2018, the school has rapidly become an integral part of the discipline in the UK; this third iteration will build on previous years while taking the intellectual focus in a new direction. The programme is designed for humanities students working on comparative research projects who wish to broaden their knowledge of the discipline and their use of comparative methodologies in the light of both classical comparativism and more recent theoretical frameworks within the emerging discipline of world literature. The school brings together postgraduate students working in the various fields of comparative/world literature, introducing them to leading specialists in the discipline and offering them a valuable opportunity for both intellectual training and institutional networking.
Programme
The programme consists of seminars spread across three days. On the morning of the first day, students give brief introductions to their current projects; on the third day, they give full presentations on how these projects can be enriched by lessons learned from the summer school. Days one and two include keynote lectures by figures of international standing, conceived as case studies in the theory and practice of comparative/world literature. The focus of this year’s school is on Francophone theories of comparison and ‘littérature-monde’.
For more on the Centre for Modern European Literature, please see:
Student profile
Applications are invited from postgraduate students either currently undertaking a PhD or about to start a PhD in the field of comparative literature broadly defined. Given the focus of this year’s school, students with French will be at an advantage, but all applications will be given full consideration. The school is fully funded by CHASE, meaning that accommodation costs and tuition fees of successful applicants will be covered. Students stay on campus for the duration of the school (3 nights) and are expected to participate fully in all aspects of the programme.
Application process
Suitably qualified students should submit a brief CV and a one-page outline of their project to: chasecomplit@kent.ac.uk
Deadline for submissions is 16 April 2020; admission decisions will be communicated in May. Up to 15 students will be invited.
Informal enquiries should be directed to Ann-Christine Kinzer: a.c.w.a.kinzer@kent.ac.uk
Seminar leaders
– Emmanuel Bouju: Professor of Comparative Literature, Paris III La Sorbonne-Nouvelle, Member of the Institut Universitaire de France
– Ben Hutchinson: Professor of European Literature at the University of Kent, Honorary Secretary of the BCLA, and author of Comparative Literature: A Very Short Introduction (2018)
– Francesca Orsini: Professor of Hindi and South Asian Literature at SOAS, Member of the Executive Committee of the BCLA, Editor of Comparative Critical Studies, and PI of ERC project ‘Multilingual Locals and Significant Geographies’
Keynote lecturers
– Anne Duprat: Professor of Comparative Literature, Université de Picardie, Member of the Institut Universitaire de France, President of the Société française de Littérature générale et comparée
– Charles Forsdick: James Barrow Professor of French, University of Liverpool, AHRC Leadership Fellow for ‘Translating Cultures’
– Tiphaine Samoyault: Professor of Comparative Literature, Paris III La Sorbonne-Nouvelle, author of Barthes: A Biography (2015/17) and Traduction et violence (2020)
