The Evolution of Literature in the Americas

A literary and, to a lesser degree, socio-political, history of America, from its indigenous past to 2026, the book offers the reader a great deal of information about America, understood not merely as the domain of one nation but as a giant, hemispheric complex, one full of fascinating interactions and relationships.

This book offers a systematic and comparative history of the evolution of literature in the Americas, from the beginning to the present day. It begins with an introduction that assesses the development of the field and then proceeds to a chapter on the literature of Pre-Columbian and indigenous America. It then moves forward chronologically, from the arrival of the Europeans (beginning in 1492) to the year 2026. Including indigenous literature, the other American literatures represented in the book are those of Canada (both Francophone and Anglophone), the United States, the Caribbean (Francophone and Anglophone), Spanish America, and Brazil. Not every book ever written in the Americas is included, of course; only those that, in the author's estimation, offer some valid point of comparison with other American literary cultures. These points of comparison include issues of theme, genre, literary periods, literature and other disciplines, such as history, art, music, or politics, cases of influence and reception, and translation. The book's emphasis is on viewing American literature from a hemispheric and comparative lens.

Autorentext

Earl E. Fitz is Professor of Portuguese, Spanish, and Comparative Literature at Vanderbilt University, where he regularly teaches courses on Brazilian literature, inter-American literature, literary history, and translation. He is the author of many articles and some 15 books on these topics.

Inhalt

1 Introduction: Inter-American Literature as Academic Discipline-A Definition and a Statement of Principles and Praxis

2 The Pre-Columbian World

3 The Fifteenth Century

4 The Sixteenth Century

5 The Seventeenth Century

6 The Eighteenth Century

7 The Nineteenth Century

8 The Twentieth Century

9 The Twenty-First Century

10 Conclusion