Pascale Casanova’s world literature theory and methodology developed in The World Republic of Letters draws heavily from Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology. While criticism to date has noted that Casanova builds on Bourdieu and makes use of a number of his concepts, the extent to which Bourdieu underpins Casanova’s work has not been fully uncovered. This paper analyses some of the methodological, conceptual, and theoretical elements which Casanova has drawn from Bourdieu, particularly through her adaptation and development of concepts such as the literary field, illusio, and habitus. In an explicit sense, Casanova extends Bourdieu’s nationally focused field theory and analysis to a complex international scale. Yet, more implicitly, Casanova draws on concepts such as illusio, habitus, and methods of critical reflexivity and epistemological vigilance, which she also borrows from Bourdieu. As such, by reading Bourdieu in Casanova, it is possible to gain a deeper understanding of Casanova’s theory and methodology.
Pascale Casanova’s La République mondiale des lettres (1999) received many significant critiques from Latin americanists, and yet, there has been little assessment of the soundness and the consequences of these contentions, to conclude whether Casanovian theory and methodology is worth practising, or whether and how it needs to be developed. In favour of this second alternative, I propose a critical assessment of some of the most predominant arguments, bringing them into dialogue with deeper readings of Casanova’s work once more in relation to their Bourdieusian roots, comparatively with other world literature theories, and as well as making my own suggestions on how to proceed. After having considered these critiques, I reflect back on these discussions to sketch how the structures of Casanova’s literature-world are also applicable to what I call (following her lead) the academic-literature-world.
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