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Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

2013

Symposium Highlights:

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Theory's Estrangement From Literature And Literature's Control Of Theory: A Survey Of The Relationship Between Theory And Literature In The Last Hundred Years, Liang Xu Nov 2013

Theory's Estrangement From Literature And Literature's Control Of Theory: A Survey Of The Relationship Between Theory And Literature In The Last Hundred Years, Liang Xu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The capitalized "Theory" emerged from literary theories, but Theory's progress showed a gradual estrangement from literature. The "Theory" has entered almost every field from cultural semiotics to Foucault's school, but it apparently ignores the field of traditional literature. Some scholars of post- theories try to turn back to the pre-Theory period to change the trend while some scholars maintain that literature has controlled academics. The paper argues that the concept of "literature" and the relations between literature and theory should be reconsidered. The linguistic turn highlights the intransitivity of language, which leads to the ubiquity of literariness, and as a …


"Post-New Period" And The Structural Position Of Everyday Life, Huanjiang Qiao Nov 2013

"Post-New Period" And The Structural Position Of Everyday Life, Huanjiang Qiao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The "post-new period" is a concept which the academic circle in the early 1990s gave to Chinese literature. This name, the present paper argues, is a way of expressing a value expectation more than an actual description of literature at the time. In the imaginary discourse that concerns literature’s dominant status and its autonomy, the theorization of the post-new period is departed from the essential aspects of contemporary society culture, revealing its lack of historical awareness. If the literature practice after 1990s has shown some distinctive features different from the New Period literature, the reason may not the breakup in …


Continuation And Construction: On The Edition Study Of Contemporary Chinese Literature History And Its Limitation, Xiuming Wu, Tao Zhang Nov 2013

Continuation And Construction: On The Edition Study Of Contemporary Chinese Literature History And Its Limitation, Xiuming Wu, Tao Zhang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The study on the editions of contemporary Chinese literary history has profound significance for the compilation of literary history, academic studies of literature, and disciplinary construction as well as scholastic development. The call for "re-writing literary history" in the late 1980s in response to the paradigm shift in literary history writing is taken as the dividing line of two periods, and the paper proceeds to compare the different editions and examine the limitations in the revisions in the two periods. The paper points out that the shift from the political to aesthetic or cultural perspective is a significant breakthrough in …


Where Is Literary Theory Going?: A Synopsis Of The Symposium On "The Future Of Literary Theory", Liangcong Zhang, Yuyun Feng Nov 2013

Where Is Literary Theory Going?: A Synopsis Of The Symposium On "The Future Of Literary Theory", Liangcong Zhang, Yuyun Feng

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The context of the symposium is the contemporary theoretical reflection on literary theories. Scholastic discussions in the symposium have focused on the crisis of theory and the possible way-out of the crisis, as well as some specific problems in the research and context of Chinese and Western literary theory. In a new context, the symposium with its focus on the possible prospect of literary theory has undeniable significance in reconstructing contemporary theoretical discourse.


Trends Of Literary Theory In The Post-Theoretical Era: Towards Posthumanism, Ning Wang Nov 2013

Trends Of Literary Theory In The Post-Theoretical Era: Towards Posthumanism, Ning Wang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In response to the pessimistic opinions in the circles of literary theory in the East and West, the paper holds that the passing of the golden era of literary and cultural theory does not mean the death of theory. In the present post-theoretical era, the function of theory is no longer forceful and ubiquitous as before, but rather it is to a certain extent restricted. The rise of the so-called posthumanist trend in the West in the past decade indicates that man in the present era is nothing but one of the species in nature, whose existence and development also …