Practicing World Literature on the Periphery of Capitalism
Alfredo Cesar Melo will discuss the predicaments of practicing world literature (as a field of study) on the semi-periphery of capitalism. How would it be possible to theorize about world literature with limited access to the metropolitan archive? My claim is that on the semi-periphery much of world literature (unit of analysis) has been done under the guise of area studies (unit of observation). The work of Roberto Schwarz would be a great example of this way of studying world literature. I will discuss some limits of this Schwarzian model.

Essaying Solidarity: Comrade Roy and the Politics of Representation

Rashmi Varma will explore the figure of the writer-activist as a specific figure for our times. In her essay ‘Walking with the Comrades’ Arundhati Roy transforms the genre of the essay by hitching it to a more expansive postcolonial and internationalist tradition that breaks through the conventions of the properly English essay. Roy’s generic restlessness speaks to her alignment with grass-roots movements for social justice. I hope to conclude by pointing to the urgency of reformulating solidarity beyond the politics of representation. This will be an informal, work-in-progress type of talk.