Unmappably Cosmopolitan: Reconfiguring Criticism of World Literature in an Era of Globalization
Can cosmopolitanism be “mapped”? Traditional forms of cartographic representation have often found themselves in conflict with the idea of cosmopolitanism. Perhaps this is connected to the elective affinities between practices of mapping and nationalism, going back to the great “age of cartography,”...
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2023-10-01
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| author | Tally, Robert T. Jr. |
| author_facet | Tally, Robert T. Jr. |
| author_sort | Tally, Robert T. Jr. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Can cosmopolitanism be “mapped”? Traditional forms of cartographic representation have often found themselves in conflict with the idea of cosmopolitanism. Perhaps this is connected to the elective affinities between practices of mapping and nationalism, going back to the great “age of cartography,” which not coincidentally coincides with the “age of discovery” and the historical rise of European nationalism. In the 21st century, various figures and means of representing the spaces of local and global cultural forms have developed, and all are, in their own ways, indicative of a broader cartographic anxiety associated with the present. This essay examines the provocative question of whether the cosmopolitan can be mapped at all, and suggests ways in which the world system may be “figured” is such ways as to make it narratable, if not necessarily knowable. Drawing upon Erich Auerbach’s “The Philology of World Literature,” I argue that the space of cosmopolitanism must be understood in terms of figures that exceed those dominant in national narratives, and these in turn may help us to reconfigure criticism in the context of a dynamic world system. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7464cc7cc13a4009aa1c8dadc88a91de |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2993-1053 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | DigitalGeorgetown |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Migrating Minds |
| spelling | doaj-art-7464cc7cc13a4009aa1c8dadc88a91de2025-08-20T02:09:21ZengDigitalGeorgetownMigrating Minds2993-10532023-10-0111710.57928/vtb0-5197Unmappably Cosmopolitan: Reconfiguring Criticism of World Literature in an Era of GlobalizationTally, Robert T. Jr.Can cosmopolitanism be “mapped”? Traditional forms of cartographic representation have often found themselves in conflict with the idea of cosmopolitanism. Perhaps this is connected to the elective affinities between practices of mapping and nationalism, going back to the great “age of cartography,” which not coincidentally coincides with the “age of discovery” and the historical rise of European nationalism. In the 21st century, various figures and means of representing the spaces of local and global cultural forms have developed, and all are, in their own ways, indicative of a broader cartographic anxiety associated with the present. This essay examines the provocative question of whether the cosmopolitan can be mapped at all, and suggests ways in which the world system may be “figured” is such ways as to make it narratable, if not necessarily knowable. Drawing upon Erich Auerbach’s “The Philology of World Literature,” I argue that the space of cosmopolitanism must be understood in terms of figures that exceed those dominant in national narratives, and these in turn may help us to reconfigure criticism in the context of a dynamic world system.spacerepresentation |
| spellingShingle | Tally, Robert T. Jr. Unmappably Cosmopolitan: Reconfiguring Criticism of World Literature in an Era of Globalization Migrating Minds space representation |
| title | Unmappably Cosmopolitan: Reconfiguring Criticism of World Literature in an Era of Globalization |
| title_full | Unmappably Cosmopolitan: Reconfiguring Criticism of World Literature in an Era of Globalization |
| title_fullStr | Unmappably Cosmopolitan: Reconfiguring Criticism of World Literature in an Era of Globalization |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unmappably Cosmopolitan: Reconfiguring Criticism of World Literature in an Era of Globalization |
| title_short | Unmappably Cosmopolitan: Reconfiguring Criticism of World Literature in an Era of Globalization |
| title_sort | unmappably cosmopolitan reconfiguring criticism of world literature in an era of globalization |
| topic | space representation |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tallyroberttjr unmappablycosmopolitanreconfiguringcriticismofworldliteratureinaneraofglobalization |