Abstract:

The Franco-American debate in comparative literature is well-known in academic circles. However, the historiography of this debate is largely focused on the differences in academic ideas rather than on the paradigmatic shift. This Franco-American debate should be reexamined as an event in the intellectual history. Behind the academic debate lies an endeavor of American scholars of comparative literature after World War II to construct the subjectivity of the discipline by advocating oneness via literary arts. A few elders who dominated the construction of the American comparative literature after World War II founded the quarterly Comparative Literature, using the journal to promote the transformation and renewal of two paradigms. The ideological differences between the editor Wellek and the deputy editor Friedrich were an important element which intensifies the Franco-American debate. The construction of the subjectivity of the American comparative literature was driven not only by academic autonomy but also by ideological considerations. After World War II, American scholars of comparative literature advocated pursuing the ideal of a cultural community by studying the “literariness” and aesthetic value of literary texts in different languages, which was actually a self-confirmation of Western centrism. From the perspective of knowledge-power, this event in the disciplinary and intellectual history can be reexamined to reveal the significant role played by the editorial team of Comparative Literature in this knowledge transformation.

Key words: Comparative Literature, comparative literature, French school, American school, intellectual history