Comparative Literature Today

Originally published as La litterature comparee, Collection Que Sais-je? in 1989 by Presses Universitaires de France. "Chevrel's best strengths as an independent, nuanced observer reside in his overview of the French and German scenes. These he integrates with the core Anglo-American developments, against the backdrop of work concerning and emanating from a diverse variety of cultures on all the continents. "It is refreshing to have a handbook that devotes the attention to the sociological dimensions of literary studies without construing these exclusively in ideological terms. Here we find a sensible mix of insights from formal and social, psychological, and anthropological analyses. Chevrel brings important approaches (e.g., genre, narratology, myth studies, relationships among the arts and media, canon formation, women's writing, and distinctive non-European poetics) to the fore with a deft touch."-from the foreword by Gerald Gillespie, Stanford University.