重繪文學版圖？：後現代；後殖民與全球英文書寫的反思

Remapping English and American Literature?: Postmodernism, Postcolonialism and the Issue Involved in the Globalization of English Writing

本論文擬探討造成英美文學「後國族」走向的近因。論文首先回溯全球英文書寫至一九六零年代，當時後現代主義的文化評論家如詹明信等，試圖詮釋晚期資本主義的文化邏輯。此外，後殖民論述與文化研究，也挹注英文書寫的全球傳播與流通。這兩種理論論述並引介大量第三世界英文書寫、或英文譯本。當英美文學開始「後國族」走向，英語作為共通話的論戰、典律、文化認同等開始產生不同意義。本文結論強調「無限性」而非「一體性」為研究當今全球化中「後國族」走向的英美文學之道。

This paper explores the factors contributing to the increasingly 'postnational' trend of English and American literature in the past decades. The impact of postmodernism, postcolonial discourse, which ushered in a huge bulk of the Third-World writings either written in or translated into English, and the popularity of cultural studies all contribute to the great currency and wide spread of English as lingua franca. The paper ends up emphasizing the importance of 'infinity' in approaching English and American literature in the globalizing world.