“Who is My Neighbor?” Reading World Literature through the Hermeneutics of Love

Abstract

WORLD LITERATURE COURSES reflect both the academy's and the Christian community's interest in a global education, but what theoretical assumptions inform the teaching of world literature? The oft-cited rationale for cultural diversity may prove insufficient if it leads merely to the assertion of difference as a self-justifying good. This essay claims a richer model of diversity, drawing on biblical themes as well as recent definitions of world literature and cosmopolitanism, to open up a hermeneutical space for transcultural understanding. The essay also argues that the study of world literature in the Christian classroom should be informed by a hermeneutic of charity which directs our reading toward love of God and neighbor.