Unexpected Affinities: Reading Across CulturesEast-West comparative literature is a field of study that has seen tremendous growth in recent years. In this pioneering study, renowned scholar Zhang Longxi offers a much-needed reappraisal of the thematic and conceptual similarities that unite literary and cultural traditions in the East and West. An expanded version of the lectures he gave as part of the Alexander Lectures Series at the University of Toronto in 2005, Unexpected Affinities emphasizes affinity over difference and explores the relationship between East and West in terms of cultural homogeneity (with shared literary qualities as its signposts), challenging the traditional boundaries of cross-cultural study and comparative literature as a discipline. Throughout Unexpected Affinities, Zhang emphasizes the validity of East-West studies through concrete examples and a wide range of references not only to literature, but to religious and philosophical texts as well. Zhang insists that certain critical insights come solely from the cross-cultural perspective of East-West studies, and that without going beyond the limited horizon of a single literary tradition, we will not attain the broad vision of human creativity in all its richness and diversity. Clear, concise, and engaging, Unexpected Affinities will appeal to students of comparative literature and Asian studies, as well as to readers interested in the global implications of art and culture. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 7
... details of brush work and palette knife . This corresponds roughly to the ... textual differences . I would like to offer another metaphor , similar to ... textual details and look at literary texts as part of a larger picture , and as we ...
... textual details . At the same time , however , the understanding we have gained at a critical distance allows us to return to individual texts and see them in a new light , with a keener sensibility and greater appreciation . In that ...
... textual details change , but the major theme of the antithetical duality of love and death , medicine and poison , remains constant throughout the play , in which the opposite sides are not just antithetical , but dialectical or ...
Contents
The Fallacy of Cultural Incommensurability | 3 |
THREE | 38 |
FOUR | 69 |
Copyright | |
1 other sections not shown