The Untranslatables of World Theory. A Geopolitical Outlook

Abstract

The paper investigates the cultural transfers and translations of the term ‟theory”, as instrumented in some of the most influential anthologies of the past decades. It puts forward the argument that while in literature per se a widening of the canon has been produced, ‟theory” remains a term charged with high hegemonical presumptions. Therefore, it pleads for a non-hierarchical and practical conception of theory, that can account for the large variety of non-Western literary phenomena.

Keywords

• theory
• theory anthologies
• world literary knowledges
• semi-peripheral cultures
• translation studies