Forget English! Orientalisms and world literatures Aamir R. Mufti

Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-278) and index.

Prologue: the universal library of world literature -- Where in the world is world literature? -- Orientalism and the institution of Indian literature -- Global English and its others -- "Our philological home is the earth": world literature from Auerbach to Said -- Epilogue: "For a ruthless criticism of everything existing".

"In recent years, the idea of world literature has become nearly hegemonic in the so-called First World or Global North. It now underlies a range of literary practices including literature festivals, prizes, and competitions, reviewing, editing and publishing, academic research and writing, teaching, and the very writing of certain kinds of literature itself. At the center of the possibility of world literature is the rise of English to global dominance, both as global literary vernacular and as the undisputed language of global capitalism. Forget English! critically examines the claims of "world literature" and makes a case for a better understanding of, first, how English has come into literary preeminence worldwide and, second, the effects of this rise on non-European languages as media of literary expression. This is the first serious work to challenge the claims and pieties of world literature from the perspective of the societies, languages, and literatures of the Global South"--Provided by publisher.