The Institute for Korean Studies presents:
Cosmopolitan and Vernacular in the Sinographic Cosmopolis and Beyond: Traditional East Asian Literary Cultures in Global Perspective
Ross King
University of British Columbia
Flyer: King Flyer [PDF]
Abstract:
This lecture introduces my forthcoming edited volume, Cosmopolitan and Vernacular in the World of Wen: Reading Sheldon Pollock from the Sinographic Cosmopolis. The study of traditional East Asian literary cultures from a comparative perspective has been hampered by a pernicious combination of sinocentrism, uncritical notions of script, writing and reading, and modern literary historiographies held hostage by the nation and the vernacular. I begin by challenging the uncritical use of certain terms, and present arguments against what I call “Sphere-speak” and “Sino-speak,” and in favor of “Cosmopolis” and “Sinographic Cosmopolis.” The second half of the talk concerns the reception of Pollock’s conceptualization of cosmopolitan and vernacular beyond south (and southeast) Asia and what he calls the “Sanskrit Cosmopolis,” beginning with a brief discussion of Latinitas, then highlighting recent research on the Persianate and Babylonian cosmopoleis, before concluding with a brief summary of the contributions in our forthcoming volume.
