From the Personal Heresy to Ecocriticism: Moving Canons, Creating Reading Communities

Abstract

Il presente saggio esamina alcune delle forme che gli studi letterari anglofoni hanno preso nel corso degli ultimi due secoli, ponendo un’enfasi particolare sulle comunità di lettori. Partendo dalla controversia su “The Personal Heresy” degli anni ’30, si riassumono le origini dello studio istituzionalizzato della letteratura inglese, nella Londra del XIX secolo, per poi affrontare la Nuova Critica e i suoi vari approcci, ‘teoria’ che ha dominato lo studio accademico della letteratura negli ultimi decenni del XX secolo. Essa si oppone al formalismo con approcci eticamente impegnati, come il postcolonialismo e l’ecocriticismo, concludendo che, nelle loro iterazioni più altruiste, questi due approcci parlino a, e per conto di, una comunità di lettori inclusiva e planetaria e offrano la possibilità di un futuro eco-sostenibile.

DOI: 10.17456/SIMPLE-55

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