lcc liberal arts studies / 2010 volume iii - LCC International University

PRAXIS IN PRESERVING NATIONAL IDENTITIES IN LITERATURE
Geri Henderson, PhD.
LCC International University, Klaipëda, Lithuania
Abstract
The concept of globalization, even a theory of globalization in literature, has been
around for almost twenty years. Yet, national literary cultures continue to make
their voices heard, creating tension in the discourse of the theoretical versus the
pragmatic. Inclusive philosophies have mandated that World Literature in English
and in English translation become an important staple in Comparative Literature
programs internationally. As an example of this tension, standard-bearers of the
old English canon of the mid-twentieth century resist the pressure to change, to be
inclusive. On the other hand, there is not a definitive canon in any conception of
World Literature that is stable. By it's very definition, World Literature must be
representative of individual countries and identifiable cultures, not a global
homogeny of all literatures.
The difficulty, and beauty of a liberal arts education is its breadth. The
balance between individual, national literature and world literature has tipped in
favor of world literatures. A majority of undergraduates do not study literature as a
major focus of study, relegating the study of all literature to a few select works within
limited possible classes. Are we educating generations of students who will not
have heard of Milton, Chaucer or Wordsworth, not to mention a host of other lesswell
known authors, no less worthy? The situation is paralleled in national
literatures of all countries and is perhaps even direr where English and its literature
dominate the curriculums of many universities.
This paper posits the subsuming of national literary identities in the drive
toward inclusive, egalitarian, political-correctness in literature studies, one of the
critical points in which national culture is situated. Further, it raises the question of
what “national” really is and considers the effect of transnationalism, the exchange
of information and literature, that has been around for centuries, not decades.
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