(Cross)cultural literacy and (trans)national literatures

Seminar by Thomas Vaessens & Gaston Franssen

Remark: This seminar will be organized twice. Both on 12/07 and 15/07.

This seminar will focus on the effects of globalization on cultural literacy. What role do national or nationalistic considerations play in the formation of literacy, now that culture and literature are increasingly approached from a transnational perspective, both in production (internationally renowned authors, publishing concerns, distribution) as in reception (readers, critics, universities, policy). What new or relatively new institutional or ideological factors play a role in the formation of literacy and how do these factors relate to globalization? In this seminar, different aspects of literacy and literary culture will be discussed: the cultural dimensions of globalization, literature and (trans)national identity, cultural hybridization and homogenization, literary/ cultural studies and cultural education.