Nowa komparatystyka: między uważnym czytaniem a lekturą na dystans

Abstract

In recent years, comparative literature has affected a lively response to the dynamic transformations of its socio-cultural environment: it has declared the death of the old discipline and the beginning of a new one, and has increasingly set foot into the realm of the modern digital laboratory. It has, however, too seldom made use of a historical analysis of its own origins, which could have an impact on how future tasks and opportunities in comparative studies are perceived. This paper looks back to the rhetorical legacy of the category of comparison — one of the traditions that led to the institutionalization of comparative studies in the nineteenth century, and which could be useful in an attempt to rewrite the discipline’s history, particularly if grounded in translation studies.