Loss of Relevance? The Study of Literature in the 21st Century: German Japanology as a Case Study

Abstract

This paper discusses the study of literature under 21st century conditions, taking Japanese Studies in Germany as a case in point. It asks how technical changes such as digitalization and the internet have influenced contents, as well as the way in which Japanese literature research is conducted, and which changes are to be observed concerning the position of the study of Japanese literature in academia as well as in society at large. Between 1960 and the 1980s, translations of Japanese literature were seldom taken up in general print media, and professional critics were hesitant to critique works, regarding them as fundamentally different. Perspectives changed in the late 1980s with a growing interest in Japan. Japan was the focus country at the 1990 Frankfurt International Book Fair. More recent developments, however, point to a loss of importance of belles lettres in the cultural and intellectual world due to changed reading habits and shifts in the media landscape. How can scholars of Japanese Studies respond the loss of relevance of their subject? Have they become superfluous in the face of the dissolution of canons and professional authority? This paper argues to the irreplaceability of experts as partners in public dialogue.

Keywords

• translation
• media landscape
• internet
• canon
• literary criticism
• academia