David Damrosch (2003) describes world literature as “a mode of circulation and of reading” (5) and “writing that gains in translation” (281). This perspective has long dominated the discourse on world literature and has been widely expanded upon by scholars. Building on this foundation, Tong King Lee (2024) proposes that in today’s globalized context, circulating literature necessitates not only a mode of reading but also a mode of doing. In this view, a literary work becomes a Barthian Text—an interconnected network of “texts” that manifest in various forms (multilingual, multimodal, or multimedial), shaped by users rather than just readers. Roland Barthes (1977) asserts that the Text “is experienced only in an activity of production” (157), with which Piotr Blumczynski’s (2023) concept of translation as experience aligns. Blumczynski defines “experience” as the interaction with and perception of a “text” (in whatever sense) through sensory channels—visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile—which can evoke spontaneous psychosomatic reactions such as amazement, excitement, shock, or nostalgia. Consequently, world literature can also be understood as writing that gains in experience.

This seminar seeks to explore world literature as a mode of doing and experiencing, an innovative and potentially fruitful approach that remains in its early stages and is under-explored. A focused discussion on this topic is felt essential to broaden our understanding of world literature. Hence, we invite both theoretical and empirical papers on topics including, but not limited to:

• World literature as playable events (e.g., the role-playing game Black Myth: Wukong and its significance for Journey to the West as world literature);


• World literature as consumable items (e.g., Disney’s merchandising of classic fairy tales);


• World literature as multisensory art (e.g., 5D+ film adaptations of literary works);


• World literature as edible experiences (e.g., story-themed food and the comprehension of the world literature behind it);


• World literature and readable artifacts (e.g., pop-up book reading and its connection to world literature);


• World literature and performative arts (e.g., how “readers” cosplaying as the characters from works of fiction help promote them to be world literature);


• World literature and accessibility (e.g., how individuals with illiteracy, dyslexia, or visual impairment “read” world literature).

References:

Barthes, R. (1977). Image‐music‐text, trans. Stephen Heath. Fontana Press.

Blumczynski, P. (2023). Experiencing translationality: Material and metaphorical journeys. Routledge.

Damrosch, D. (2003). What is world literature?. Princeton University Press.

Lee, T. K. (2024). Illusions of textuality: The semiotics of literary memes in contemporary media. Literature Compass, 21(4–6), e12759.