Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition ix

Introduction 1

1 What Is “Literature”? 9

2 Reading across Time 31

3 Reading across Cultures 57

4 Reading in Translation 83

5 Brave New Worlds 107

6 Writing Empire 135

7 Global Writing 157

Epilogue: Going Farther 181

Bibliography 187

Index 197

About the Author

David Damrosch, PhD is Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature at Harvard University and a past president of the American Comparative Literature Association. Dr. Damrosch has written widely on comparative and world literature, and his work has been translated into an eclectic variety of languages, including Chinese, Estonian, Hungarian, Turkish, and Vietnamese.