Description
(Short description)
This book looks at literature as produced by institutions as well as an institution itself, shaping national identity and mediating cultural values through a literary canon, curricula, and cultural practices. This strange institution called literature! (J. Derrida)
(Short description)
This strange institution called literature! (J. Derrida)
(Text)
The contributions investigate the ways in which numerous institutions of English literature shape the literary field. While they cover an extensive historical field, ranging from the Early Modern period to the 18th century to the contemporary, they focus not only on literary texts, but also on extra-literary ones, including literary prizes, literary histories and anthologies, and highlight the various ways in which these negotiate the processes that constitute the literary field. All contributions assert that there is no such thing as literature outside of institutions. Great emphasis is therefore put on different acts of mediation.
(Author portrait)
Prof Dr Barbara Schaff teaches English Literature and Culture at the University of Göttingen.
Laurenz Volkmann ist Professor für Englische Fachdidaktik an der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena.
